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NorthEast United members all smiles after winning their opening encounterAfter a successful season opener in Kolkata, all eyes were shifted to Guwahati, expecting a similar display of quality football from both NorthEast United FC and Kerala Blasters FC. Witnessed by a packed Indira Gandhi Athletic stadium including their owner John Abraham, the local boys edged past the Blasters 1-0 in a very tight encounter which was end to end and saw many opportunities being created by both sides. The all important goal was scored by the Spaniard Koke in first half injury time.Here we look at the five major talking points from the match:
#1 Alexandros Tzorvas had a blinder
The NorthEast United goalkeeper Alexandros Tzorvas was unbeatable in between the posts which won him the Hero of the Match award. The former Greek International helped his side score maximum points with a match winning performance, as he thwarted wave after wave of Kerala’s attacks. Blasters who attempted more shots on goal compared to the NorthEast, just could not find a way past him.
Tzorvas fed off of the energy of the crowd, and was constantly talking to his defense, making sure he let them know how they should position themselves and how to play the situation. His handling was perfect throughout the match, and aoart from one bad miskick which landed straight at Chopra’s feet, he was in command of his area and his distribution.
A very tight encounter which could have gone either way, went the home side’s way, thanks to a glittering display from the goalkeeper. It proved to be the difference that helped NorthEast United clinch their opener in style in front of a capacity crowd of 30,000.
#2 The winning goal
Koke scored the only goal of the game in first half injury time, that helped the home team clinch the win. The goal came from a throw in by Khongjee who took the throw from the right, and put in a long throw, with the ball reaching the edge of the box. The Kerala defense were caught napping, as none of the 4 defenders were in position to intercept the ball or put in a challenge following a mishit clearance.
The ball instead fell to Koke, who was right on the edge of the penalty area. He came running in and connected with an accurate and well timed half volley, which went past the outstretched hand of David James in the Kerala goal.
The Kerala Blasters defenders will definitely be thinking they should have dealt with the situation better and will look to improve in the coming matches.
#3 NorthEast United and their organized defence
Blasters made some good moves up front only to be cancelled out by a strong defensive display from NorthEast United. The frequent attacks carried out by Kerala were dealt with very well by the home side, thus they were able to keep a clean sheet, and take all 3 points.
Although the Blasters had more possession, and created more chances, they could not get that break which gave them a goal. The NorthEast team was very youthful, but the exprience of Capdevila, Garcia and Tzorvas in defense was invaluable, as they worked very well with both Robin Gurung, and Khongjee to keep everything very tight.
Their entire defensive effort was epitomized by one particular sequence, which saw one goalline clearance by Robin, followed by a block by a combination of Haokip and Tzorvas, all of which ensured that NorthEast would keep a clean sheet.
#4 Lapses in finishing for Kerala Blasters
Despite creating many clear cut chances, the Kerala Blasters were left to rue their profligacy in front of goal, as they failed to finish any of the many opportunitites they got. The guilty parties here were Michael Chopra, who had atleast 3-4 chances to score and take the game away from the NorthEast United team.
Although they were able to create chances, the lack of patience saw them attempt a lot of longrangers, many of which were wayward and just gifted the ball back to the home side. Even the other strikers Hume and Barisic, could not take advantage of their chances, which would be another working area for them going forward.
All these missed chances will definitely make them rue their luck, as they believed they had scored in the first half, only to see Hume’s effort ruled out for offside.
#5 Substitutions proved to be interesting, but didn\'t deliver
The Kerala assistant coach Trevor Morgan made interesting calls from the sideline as he changed things around in the hopes of getting a result. Blasters, trailing by a goal in the second half, were looking for some changes that could change the course of the game in their favour. But, the three substitutions made in a span of 15 minutes didn’t turn out as well for the away side as they would expected.
The former EPL striker Michael Chopra and Andrew Barisic were introduced to the front line to join the Canadian forward Iain Hume to add more fuel to the attack. This in essence meant that the Blasters were now playing a direct game, and were looking to find the strikers early with long balls, hoping to get back on level terms with their counterparts.
The one change that maybe backfired the most was removing Indian striker CS Sabeeth who won the Emerging Player award and had a decent game up front for Soumik Dey. Kerala needed to have a go at the NorthEast United backline, and Sabeeth was able to do that very well in the first half, so maybe deserved a longer run in the game.
