ISL 2015: 5 things we learnt after the first round of matches

The first round of matches in season 2 of the Hero Indian Super League (ISL) came to a conclusion after Kerala Blasters recorded a fairly comfortable 3-1 win over NorthEast United in Kochi. The south Indian side sit at the top of the table along with FC Pune City, who have the same goal difference.The first four games not only gave us a glimpse of how the teams have shaped up, but also threw up some interesting talking points going into the next round of games. So before the teams get back on the field for the second round, we list the five things that the first week of matches taught us.

#1 Form is temporary, class is permanent

Helder Postiga (9) scored the first and second goal for Atletico de Kolkata (Image courtesy of ISL)

Veteran strikers Helder Postiga, Tuncay Sanli and Fredereic Piquionne once again proved that age is just a number and that scoring goals comes naturally to them. The three strikers have scored goals at every top club they have played for in Europe, and have immediately made a mark in India too.

Postiga, who lined up for the defending champions Atletico de Kolkata in a tough encounter against Chennaiyin FC on the opening day, helped the Kolkata outfit register a crucial victory with a brace which twice put them in the lead at the Marina Arena. The 33-year-old’s twin strikes eventually proved vital for the champions in a 3-2 win.

Tuncay announced his arrival in Pune with a brace which helped FC Pune City sink Mumbai City FC in an otherwise tough evening for the Punekars in the Maha derby. Tuncay, aged 33, converted the only chances which fell his way to once again prove his instincts in front of goal.

In the same game, Frederic Piquionne’s relentless performance went in vain as his fine header in the first half was cancelled out by goals from Tuncay and Israil Gurung in the second half. Piquionne showed great desire, almost like a 16-year-old, despite being 20 years older.

#2 Not the most marquee start

Nicolas Anelka came on as a late substitute (Image courtesy of ISL)

Apart from Helder Postiga and Lucio, all the marquee players struggled to shine for their respective teams and didn’t make any notable impact for whatever time they were involved. A lot was expected of some of the marquee players, but sadly they failed to rise to the occasion.

Kerala Blatsers’ Carlos Marchena was ruled out much before the action even started while NorthEast United’s Simao Sabrosa couldn’t feature due to a dead leg. Similarly, injury concerns forced Adrian Mutu to start from the bench, and his performance after coming on didn’t stand out.

Nicolas Anelka, Mumbai City FC’s player-manager, decided against starting himself – a decision which backfired as his side went down to FC Pune City despite creating numerous chances. Coming on in the 75th minute, Anelka left it too late to make any sort of impact on the game.

Chennaiyin FC’s Elano had some bright moments and did score a penalty, but he wasn’t up to his own high standards. Delhi Dynamos' marquee trio of Roberto Carlos, Florent Malouda and John Arne Riise failed to impress, with the Riise even being guilty in the move that led to FC Goa’s opener.

Lucio did well to keep a clean sheet and lead his side to a win, but the joy of Postiga’s twin strikes was wiped out with the striker picking up an injury and being ruled out for a few weeks.

The poor performance of the marquee players has raised questions about their fitness levels. The stars have plenty of answers to give in the weeks to come.

#3 Indian players making the step up

Mohammed Rafi was involved in two goals for Kerala Blasters (Image courtesy of ISL)

The biggest plus that has come out of the first round of games is the performance of the Indian players. Jeje Lalpekhlua was the first Indian on the scoresheet when he netted the equalizer for Chennaiyin FC against Atletico de Kolkata; he had an impressive game despite his team ending on the losing side.

FC Goa’s India duo of Romeo Fernandes and Mandar Rao Desai ran the show for Zico’s men as they blanked Roberto Carlos’ Delhi Dynamos 2-0. Denson Devdas too was remarkable too, just sitting in the front of the back four.

Missing Eugenson Lyngdoh and Jackichand Singh (both are on international duty), FC Pune City found a new hero in Israil Gurung. He ran riot down Mumbai City’s left side and assisted both of Tuncay’s goals before getting on the score sheet himself in a 3-1 defeat of their local rivals Mumbai City FC.

Mohammed Rafi too had a brilliant outing for Kerala Blasters as he scored one and assisted one with last year’s runners-up cruising past NorthEast United at home.

It was a pleasant surprise to see these Indian players rise to the occasion, especially considering that the pick of the Indian players didn’t feature due to being away on international duty. The future is bright for Indian football.

#4 No room for comebacks

While Elano gave Chennaiyin FC hope, his goal came too late in the second half to spark a comeback (Image courtesy of ISL)

The teams which ended on the winning side at the end of the first round of matches had one thing in common. All of them opened the scoring in the game and never looked back from there.

Although Atletico de Kolkata and FC Pune City were pegged back after taking the lead, they had more goals in them. The two teams raced to identical 3-1 leads after being pulled back to 1-1 by the opponents.

On the other hand, FC Goa and Kerala Blasters looked unstoppable as they took the game to the opposition after taking the lead in the game. Goa withstood a second half fightback from the Delhi Dynamos to claim a 2-0 win while Kerala Blasters raced into a 3-0 lead only to lose their clean sheet to a fine goal from NorthEast United’s Argentine winger Velez.

This statistic will be doing the rounds in the dressing rooms as the coaches will be stressing the importance of getting themselves in front in the game. At the same time, the managers would also want their teams to show more character when they fall behind in games.

#5 Kerala Blasters - 12th man in the stands

60,000 fans thronged the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in Kochi (Image cortesy of ISL)

After a number of positive happenings in the first round of games in the ISL Season 2 so far, the biggest coup for the organizers was the packed house in Kochi’s Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium. Kerala Blasters’ opening game against NorthEast United saw a massive attendance of 60,000.

After a week of great build-up to this game, the football-loving state of Kerala once again showed their love for the beautiful game as they poured into the stadium to support their team. The crowd made it a brilliant atmosphere to play football, and the buzz in the stands was transferred to the pitch as the game had an electrifying tempo to it.

The Blasters repaid the crowd’s love with three brilliant goals in a 3-1 win over the NorthEast United, surging to the top of the ISL table in the process. The Blasters’ fans are well and truly the 12th man for the men in yellow, and teams heading down south to the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in Kochi will find it extremely difficult to stop the Blasters on their own patch.