Delhi Dynamos FC salvaged a 1-1 draw at the hands of Kerala Blasters FC at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in Kochi on Saturday, as the hosts fell victim to another late goal which snatched away two points and the top spot in the league standings from them.

  • CK Vineeth got his first goal of the current campaign, giving Blasters the lead in the 48th minute.
  • Andrija Kaludjerovic headed home a late equaliser, his maiden goal for the club, in the 84th minute.
  • Kerala once again failed to hold on to their lead as they drop points at home for the second consecutive time this season.

The first half started on a cagey note with neither side able to impose themselves in the opening exchanges. Slavisla Stojanovic mustered up the first real chance for the hosts with a stinging long-range drive that was well saved by Francisco Dorronsoro. Delhi almost broke the deadlock in the 28th minute, when Narayan Das’ in-swinging corner was poorly handled by Naveen Kumar in goal. However, Kerala were able to quickly clear their lines to prevent conceding.

The best opportunity for the hosts in the first period would fall to Stojanovic in the 35th minute. A deflected cross from Lalruatthara fell perfectly to the feet of Stojanovic just outside the six-yard box. However, the forward could not direct his shot on target, hitting the side-netting instead.

A few minutes later, the visitors would go on to fluff their lines after being presented with a golden opportunity of their own. A lofted ball found Romeo Fernandes with acres of space down the right channel. The winger managed to cut the ball back to Gianni Zuiverloon, but the midfielder somehow failed to hit the target from close range. With that opportunity, both sides went into the break tied at 0-0.

David James’ half-time team-talk seemed to have worked wonders as the Blasters took the lead three minutes into the second half. After Delhi failed to convincingly clear their lines from a corner, the ball fell to Vineeth inside the box, who expertly swivelled past his marker before poking the ball into the back of the net.

Kerala could have doubled their lead minutes later when Seiminlen Doungel got on the end of a neat pass from Vineeth. The winger got past his man and struck a curling shot which narrowly missed the top corner.

As the half wore on, Delhi slowly started applying the pressure on the Kerala backline and nearly levelled things near the 70th-minute mark. Rene Mihelic struck a stinging low drive from the edge of the box which was palmed away by Kumar.

Nevertheless, the Lions would eventually get their equaliser deep into the last quarter. With Sandesh Jhingan lying flat on the turf with a cramp, Kaludjerovic made the most of the extra space, and steered home a header from close range. Kerala were taken aback by the equaliser, but could have been awarded a penalty in injury-time when Vineeth was brought down inside the box by Pritam Kotal. However, the referee adjudged the tackle to be a fair one and waved the appeal away. In the end, both sides had to settle for a point as the referee blew for the final whistle.

HERO OF THE MATCH

Local boy CK Vineeth was rightly adjudged the ‘Hero of the Match’ for his splendid attacking display. The forward was a livewire throughout the second half and took his goal extremely well, given the number of players surrounding him. The 30-year-old will consider himself unlucky not to have been awarded a spot kick in the dying seconds of the match, but will take plenty of positives from a solid outing.

CLUB AWARDS

Club Award – Kerala Blasters and Delhi Dynamos

Swift Limitless Player of the Match – Andrija Kaludjerovic

DHL Winning Pass of the Match – Pritam Kotal

ISL Emerging Player of the Match – Lallianzuala Chhangte

Hero of the Match – CK Vineeth

WHAT’S NEXT?

Kerala travel to Jamshedpur on October 29 for their next match, while Delhi will look for their first three points of the season when they host NorthEast United FC at New Delhi on October 30. 

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Kerala Blasters FC 2018-2019Match Report