Toyota Yaris La Liga World: Kerala Blasters FC vs Girona FC - Player Ratings
The action from the Toyota Yaris La Liga World tournament came to an end as hosts Kerala Blasters FC faced off La Liga side Girona FC in the final match of the international pre-season tournament at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in Kochi, Kerala.
Kerala Blasters FC had a poor start to the tournament when they suffered a 6-0 drubbing against Melbourne City FC in the first match earlier this week. However, they had fielded a young side and came in with higher hopes from their main squad.
On the other hand, Girona FC looked in fine touch against the Aussie side Melbourne City FC despite resting their crucial players in the first match. Both the sides made a lot of changes coming into the final fixture of the Toyota Yaris La Liga World tournament.
Kerala Blasters FC made Girona FC work hard for their goals maintaining a strong defensive shape throughout the game conceding only minutes before the end of the first half. Eric Montes managed to score just before the whistle with a great close-angle finish and the score ended 1-0 at halftime.
The second half saw Girona FC come into their element and take charge adding four goals at regular intervals by Pedro Porro, Alex Granell, Aday Benitez and a late penalty scored by Aleix Garcia that saw Girona FC win 5-0 at the full-time whistle.
Kerala Blasters FC
Mohammad Rakip (4.5/10) - The young left-back for the Indian side had a tough time on the flank with the constant pressure by the Girona attackers but did his best to make it tough for them.Naveen Kumar (4/10) - Naveen Kumar was given the responsibility between the goal tonight replacing young Dheeraj Singh Moirangthem. He made some crucial saves denying Girona the chance to go ahead but was beaten just before the half-time whistle. He ended up conceding goals in the second half but did produce a couple of good saves between the sticks.
Cyril Kali (4.5/10) - The newly signed centre-back was a strong presence in the Kerala defence and used his physical presence well to defend against the marauding Girona attackers. He made a lot of crucial interceptions and clearances from inside the box.
Sandesh Jhingan (4/10) - The Kerala Blasters skipper manned his personnel at the back with discipline as Kerala had to sit back to absorb the Girona pressure. He was his usual gritty self when going in for headers and tackles.
Anas Edathodika (3.5/10) - The returning Kerala boy played on the right side of the defence tonight but looked out of his comfort zone making a couple of crucial mistakes.
Prasanth K (3/10) - The youngster who had impressed everyone with his showing against Melbourne City FC had a poor game with barely any significant touches on the ball.
Keziron Kizito (5/10) - The pacey winger was the point man for Kerala during the counter attack attempts and displayed good discipline having to defend against the Girona midfielders tonight.
Zakeer Mundampara (5/10) - The former Mumbai City FC man played the enforcer role in the midfield for the home side putting in strong tackles in the centre of the field.
Courage Pekuson (6/10) - The Ghanian midfielder was the engine in the midfield for Kerala Blasters FC kickstarting their counter-attacks. He came close to scoring at the hour mark when his freekick was saved well by the Girona keeper Iraizoz.
Slavisa Stojanovic (3/10) - The Serbian attacker had a quiet night being the target man in the Kerala attack alongside Poplatnik. He was replaced by Halicharan Narzary in the final twenty minutes of the match.
Matej Poplatnik (3/10) - The Slovenian striker had a pretty silent game considering Kerala had very few attacking attempts on the Girona goal. His only significant contribution before being subbed off was earning the freekick that was almost put in by Pekuson.
Substitutes:
Seminlen Doungel (2/10) - The former Northeast United man was put on by David James to inject some pace and width to the Kerala Blasters attack.
Lalruatthara (2/10) - Lalruatthara came on in the second half to replace Cyril Kali in the central defensive setup alongside skipper Sandesh Jhingan.
Bhupendra Negi (2/10) - The youngster replaced Keziron Kizito in the Kerala midfield as James gave chance to youngsters to test his mettle.
Halicharan Narzary (2/10) - The India winger came on in the Kerala attack for the final twenty minutes but did not have any attacking impact as Girona continued to dominate proceedings.