Indian Player Ratings: Michael Soosairaj and Seiminlen Doungel star as Kerala keep Jamshedpur at bay

The visitors came back from two down to draw against the Men of Steel.

Jamshedpur FC were held to a 2-2 draw in the Indian Super League by a resurgent Kerala Blasters at the JRD Tata Sports Complex on Monday. After the hosts attained a two-goal lead in the first half, thanks to Tim Cahill’s first goal in the ISL and Michael Soosairaj’s beautiful effort. Kerala came back in the second half, thanks to Seiminlen’s Doungel’s inspired substitution. CK Vineeth and Slavisla Stojanovic scored for the Blasters, who earned a point with their hardwork in the second half. Here are our player ratings for the thrilling encounter.

 

 

 

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Watch: Jamshedpur FC 2-2 Kerala Blasters highlights

Here are how the domestic players performed in the game.

Jamshedpur FC

Subrata Paul- 6.5

Paul had a rather uneventful first half and didn’t really have to do anything. However, when needed, he proved his brilliance with a superb penalty save. Dived confidently to his right to save Stojanovic’s powerful spot-kick, which actually decisively won a point for Jamshedpur in the end. Couldn’t really do much to save the goals.  

Sanjay Balmuchu- 5.5

Balmuchu did a really good job in containing the dangerous Vineeth and didn’t allow him to be at his menacing best. However, he did concede a poor penalty with a needless challenge on Stojanovic, but was bailed out by his keeper. Seemed to lose concentration towards the end and let emotions get the better of him and was lucky not to get booked.

Dhanachandra Singh- 6.0

Dhanachandra is starting to form a solid bond with Tiri and did a great job containing Kerala’s strikers. He tracked the movement of Poplatnik really well and did not allow him or Stojanovic to create problems for his side. Received an unlikely assist for Soosairaj’s goal when his throw-in went past Rakip. Could not do much for the goals, but should’ve marked Vineeth better.  

Yumnam Raju- 4.5

The experienced full-back put in a solid effort again and did well to contain Halicharan Narzary, in the first half, but broke after Doungel moved in. Len terrorized him throughout the second half and tricked him into providing the assists for both goals. Raju definitely should’ve done better and put in a disappointing performance in the second half.  

Michael Soosairaj- 7.5

His best performance in the ISL so far. Soosairaj was an absolute menace for Rakip and made defending a nightmare for the youngster. He had a few unsuccessful jibes at goal, before he beautifully curled the ball into the net to get his goal. Soosairaj moved with real intent and his dazzling trickery won over the fans. He grew tired and was substituted in the second half.

Farukh Choudhary- 5.5

Farukh was made to operate in the right-wing and he struggled to impose himself on that side. He moved ahead with intent at times, but could not get past Lalruatthara that often. Farukh isn’t really a winger and that showed in his performance today.

Substitutions

Sumit Passi- 5.5

Passi was brought on to try and extend Jamshedpur’s lead on the day, but did not get the service needed to do anything. He was neutralized by Jhingan and failed to get a shot on target.

Jerry Mawhmingthanga- 6.0

Jerry showed sparks of brilliance with his movement at times, but his defensive vulneribilty didn’t help Raju at all. He tried to get the winner for Jamshedpur late on, but couldn’t manage to do so.

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Kerala Blasters

Naveen Kumar- 6.0

Kumar was helpless to do anything about either goals, which rocketed past him. His distribution on the day was pretty good, but apart from that he was a spectator who could only watch the ball go past him on two occasions.

Mohamed Rakip- 4.5

Rakip had an absolute nightmare against the tricky Soosairaj. He judged his tackles really poorly at times and let the Jamshedpur winger go past him too easily on many occasions. The youngster’s poor judgement allowed Soosairaj to get a free shot on goal for his strike and Rakip just looked dogged on the day. Did better in the second half, but was still discomforted by Soosairaj.

Sandesh Jhingan- 6.5

Sandesh was troubled at times by Cahill, but held his own against the Australian. He played his part as a leader with some impressive clearances and crunching tackles, but could not marshall his defence well. Struggled to guide Rakip, who ended up having a poor game. Recovered in the second half and dominated Jamshedpur’s attackers for the rest of the game.

Lalruatthara- 6.5

The promising left-back put in a hard-working performance on the day. He did really well to neutralize Farukh’s threat and made six tackles in the first half, as well as three crucial interceptions. Was unlucky to be sacrificed in the second half, as Kerala wanted a more attacking player instead.

Holicharan Narzary- 5.5

Holicharan Narzary had a really quiet game on the left wing. Despite being so lively in the ISL this season, he struggled to do anything and could not get past Raju. Ended up playing centrally in the second half, in which he failed before being substituted.

CK Vineeth- 6.5

The former Bengaluru FC hitman had a really frustrating game and found things to be difficult on the right wing. Vineeth was isolated and annoyed fans by trying too hard. However, he seemed much better after moving into the middle and used his predatorial instincts to get to Len’s ball and score a sweet equalizer to steal a point for his side.  

Substitutions

Sahal Abdul Samad- 7.0

The youngster instilled a dose of energy into the ditched Blasters unit and provided the spark Kerala were missing in the first half. He went forward with intent and played a big part in earning the penalty, when his accurate through-ball set Poplatnik free. Played a big role in the build-up for the goal with his impressive cross-field ball and kept on passing the ball forward.  

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Seiminlen Doungel- 8.0

Doungel proved to be the super-sub Kerala Blasters required to get back into the game in the second half with his two assists. He overpowered Raju before sending in an amazing left-footed cross for Stojanovic’s goal, which brought them back into the contest. Went past him again and cleverly found Vineeth in the box for the equalizer, as his excellent work deservedly won him the Hero of the Match award.