Player Ratings: Kerala Blasters 3-1 North East United FC
Peter Taylor’s spirited Kerala team had the perfect start to their campaign with a 3-1 win over North East United FC in their fast match of the season.
Young Spanish talent Josu Currias opened the scoring for the home team with a thunderous volley in the first half. Mohammad Rafi doubled the lead through a neat header and substitute Sanchez Watt provided the cherry on the cake with the third goal. Nicolas Velez, who worked relentlessly throughout the game scored a consolation goal for the North East side with a peach of a finish.
Here are the player ratings from today’s match:
Kerala Blasters FC
Stephen Bywater - 7/10
The experienced keeper who has plyed his trade with a number of English clubs throughout his career was impressive. His commanding presence at the back for the home side provided for confidence to his defence line. He made a brilliant one on one save from Nicolas Velez early in the first half.
Rahul Bheke - 7/10
Young right back Bheke was a live wire in the field. It was his two long throws which brought the goals for the Blasters team. Other than this his work rate he kept the right side of the team very active throughout the game.
Bruno Perone- 6/10
Perone did not have much to do today since Marcus Williams covered the central defence brilliantly. But Perone and the other defenders of Kerala were very organised. They played the offside trap magnificently, tricking Nicolas Velez repeatedly in the first half.
Peter Ramage - 6/10
Experienced Ramage was equally good in Kerala’s deep defence. He kept moving up during set pieces and corners. His brilliant effort from a corner kick was saved well by Rehenesh TP.
Marcus Williams- 7.5/10
Well built English centre back, Williams was a standout performer in the defence of the Blasters side today. He was very disciplined and led his fellow defenders brilliantly. He was hardly beaten by the aerial crosses. Rock solid at the heart of the defence.
Peter Carvalho - 5.5/10
Despite being a right back he started in a more advanced position. The experienced Goan defender tried his best to cover gaps in the field but he was relatively poor. He needs more time to adapt to the new position. An injury which seemed quite serious forced him off the field right before the final whistle.
C.Vineeth - 6.5/10
He operated on well the left side for his team. Vineeth provided the assist for Kerala’s first goal when his attempted overhead kick helped the ball to Josu who scored a scorcher of a goal. Although he made a number of technical errors. Inconsistent performance by him.
Mehtab Hussain - 7.5/10
Currently one of the best central midfielders in the country, he started on the left wing. But he kept cutting into the center of the midfield where he showcased a brilliant performance. From winning 50-50 balls to providing lethal long balls, he was one of the standout performers in today’s game.
Josu Currias - 8/10
Man of the match, the young Spanish midfielder was instrumental. He used all the tricks from his bag, from stepovers to soft touches to one on ones, we saw everything from this lad. But undoubtedly the best moment of the match came when he thundered a volley from almost 30 yards into the top corner of the net. He could be the find of this year’s tournament.
Mohammad Rafi - 6/10
Rafi started today's game as an out and out striker. He is known for his opportunist strikes and we saw one of them when he outjumped the North East defenders to score from a long throw. Other than that he was finding it tough to hold on to the ball. It was his through ball which Watt converted.
Christopher Dagnall - 5/10
Dagnall hardly influenced the game and had to be substituted right after half time. Although the English striker started in the attacking area, he kept dropping back to the midfield. He was not able to adapt to Platt’s tactics and was struggling in the game.
Subs:
Sanchez Watt - 7/10
Watt who has played for Arsenal in the Premier League, scored a brilliant goal slipping the ball right between the legs of Rehenesh T.P. after coming on to the field. Extremely fit and hard working Watt along with Josu can create havoc to any defence if they click together.
Joao Coimbra - 5/10
The Portuguese midfielder replaced Josu in holding midfield. Of the ten minutes that he was on the field, Coimbra mainly played as defensive midfielder since protecting the lead was Platt’s primary objective in the dying minutes.
Gurwinder Singh – N/A
Singh came in at the last second when Peter Carvalho had to be stretchered out with a hamstring injury.