Kerala Blasters locked horns against NorthEast United at GMC Athletic Stadium, Bambolim in their second league matches. Blasters came for their first 3 point victory in this season after a defeat in the opening game against ATK Mohun Bagan while NorthEast United defeated Sergio Lobera’s Mumbai City FC and bagged 3 points.
The highlanders made a thrilling comeback against the men in yellow who got the lead from a header goal by skipper Sergio Cidoncha via Seityasen Singh’s freekick in the 5th minute of the game and added another to the lead with a penalty by Garry Hooper ahead of the halftime whistle.
The Highlanders came back from what it could have been a two-goal loss to a 2-2 draw in the second half with a goal from Kwesi Appiah in the 50th minute and another one from super-sub Idrissa Sylla before the full time.
Lets dive in to the player ratings!
KERALA BLASTERS FC
Albino Gomes- 6.5
Kerala Blasters custodian Albino Gomes had a quiet hectic day at work with conceding two goals in the second half, including a late penalty from striker Idrissa Sylla.Albino faced nine shorts but could not stop the team from getting a two goal loss.
Nishu Kumar -7.5
Former Bengaluru FC defender Nishu made his first ISL debut for KBFC today against the highlanders. Nishu started today after missing the inaugural match against ATK MB due to his injuries. However, he replaced Prashanth. K from the first match and started as a right full-back. In the 90 minutes, Nishu completed 37 passes with an accuracy of 70% and was included in 2 fouls. Pairing up with the Costa-Kone duo, Nishu made some great tackles and was also seen in the attacking third.
Bakary Kone-7
Burkinabe centre-back Bakary Kone played his second match for Kerala Blasters today and
was instrumental for Kerala Blasters along with Costa. The defender completed a total of 36 passes with 80% accuracy from his side and made a- single foul.
Costa Nhamoinesu-7.5
The Zimbabwean blocked two shots with numerous clearances at the backline. He also completed 29 passes with 94% passing accuracy. The minister of defence connected the balls well and
balanced the defense.
Jessel Carneiro -7
Jessel paired it up well with the defensive line and was also seen supplying balls to the midfield from the left flank. He made 5 clearances and completed 15 passes with 68% passing accuracy.
Rohit Kumar-7
Rohit Kumar made his ISL debut for Kerala Blasters and played a crucial role in the midfield. With the absence of local boy Sahal, Rohit was seen fitting in well in the defensive midfield allowing Cido and Vicente to be free.He played 71 minutes today before being replaced by Jeakson Singh, Rohit completed 34 passes with an accuracy of 87% and also received a yellow card for fouling Khninthoi in the 35’th minute of the match.
Vicente Gomes -7
Continuing his form from the last match, Vincente was seen running on in the midfield and was seen performing his defensive and attacking duties well. The Spaniard made 3 clearances and completed 42 passes with an accuracy of 76%.
Sergio Cidoncha-7.5
Captain fantastic had a great outing today with adding a goal to his name in the 5th minutes of the match through a freekick from Sityasen Singh. Playing 71 minutes before being replaced by Facundo Peryera, Cido found the back of the net once and completed 24 passes with an accuracy of 77%.
Seityasen Sigh-7
After finding his place in the starting 11 replacing Ritwik Das, Seitya gave a boost to the attacking line. He completed 23 passes with an accuracy of 61% and also turned out to be the provider of the first goal by Cidoncha. He was also included in the second goal, as he took the corner kick, which turned out to be a penalty after a foul inside the box and Hooper converted it into a goal. He created two chances from his side and also received a yellow card.
Lalthathanga Khawlhring-7
Puitea played 64 minutes today and before being subbed by Prashanth, he created the chance for Hooper’s goal ahead of the half time whistle. Puitea was fouled by Rakesh Pradhan in the box. Puitea completed a total of 11 passes with 65% passing accuracy.
Garry Hooper-6
English man Garry Hooper scored his first ISL goal today in the form of a penalty in the 45+2th minute. Apart from that, Hooper missed an open chance which he created with a solo run to the final third, could have been a goal in the 22nd minute. Hooper played 81 minutes and was subbed by Jordan Murray but before that, he completed just 8 passes with an accuracy rate of 57%. Hooper was also seen doing defence duties and has done a successful clearance.
Jordan Murray,Jeakson Singh, Prashanth. k, Facundo Peryera – 6
We rate the fresh legs of the game a six, as they were subbed in the dying minutes of the game but failed to bring any impact.
Jordan Murray was brought in at the 81st minute but could not make any impact in the game.