Ratings: Sahal Samad cameo helps Kerala Blasters beat NorthEast United

Dimitri Diamantakos scored the other goal for the Blasters.

A cold and pleasant evening in Guwahati saw Kerala Blasters comeback to winning ways and NorthEast United being handed their fifth consecutive defeat of the season. The road ahead seems very tough for the Highlanders as things have turned from bad to worse.

Dimitris Diamantakos opened the scoring for the Blasters after working his socks off with a tap-in before Sahal Abdul Samad unleashed his beast mode and sealed the deal for Kerala Blasters with a brace.

NorthEast United had a few crucial chances to come back on level terms and even take the lead, but yet again it was a tale of missed and unconverted chances. 

On that note, we take a look at how the players performed.

NorthEast United (By Yash Pratap Singh)

Mirshad Michu - 5.0

The keeper wasn't tested much by the visiting team as most of their shots were not on target. He was decent with his ball distribution and even made three high claims. But eventually, he let in three goals in the second half.

Joe Zoherliana - 6.5

Joe was outpaced by Rahul KP a lot of times throughout the game. He made important defensive contributions with a couple of clearances and blocks. He even created a very good chance by sending in a good delivery into the box, but Imran couldn’t convert it.

Gaurav Bora - 6.0

Bora made a comeback into the lineup after missing out in the last game against Jamshedpur. He made more than 10 clearances and even executed a couple of tackles, but just couldn’t help his side keep a clean-sheet.

Mashoor Shereef - 6.5

The defender put up a decent performance as the centre-back in a five-man defence. He made a few crucial clearances and even neutralised the aerial threat from the Blasters. Moreover, he made a couple of important interceptions.

Michael Jakobsen - 6.5 

The skipper displayed his experience and displayed yet another cool and calm performance at the back. He was impressive with his passing accuracy and even won the majority of his ground and aerial duels.

Gurjinder Kumar - 6.0

The left-back made bombing runs forward and even defended well on most occasions. He even played a crucial key pass which wasn’t converted yet again. Defensively, he made four clearances, two interceptions and one block.

Emil Benny - 6.5

He did so many good things throughout the game, but just couldn’t convert the chance of the game. Benny either had to use his right or left foot and the ball would’ve found the back of the net, but he delayed his move which resulted in a clearance by the Blasters.

Romain Philippoteaux - 7.0

Romain made a bursting run forward and even brought a shot out of his hat, but was unlucky to hit the crossbar. He combined well with his teammates to create attacking moves which had no end products.

Jon Gaztanaga - 7.0

The Spaniard put up another hard-working performance in the middle of the park. He was fouled multiple times in the middle of the park, but he managed to maintain his tempo on all occasions. Jon made three tackles and two clearances.

Matt Derbyshire - 6.5

The striker worked his socks off by running throughout the dimensions of the ground. Derbyshire combined well with Romain and even forced the keeper to hurried clearances and misplaced passes.

Jithin MS - 7.0

Jithin put on his afterburners and produced a great run from his half to the opposition’s box, but couldn’t produce an end product. He was really good on either wing with his presence of mind and trickery. Jithin won five ground duels and even made important defensive contributions.

Substitutes

Imran Khan - 6.0

Imran came on in the second half to replace Jithin on the left flank. He had a great chance to bring his side back on level terms, but just couldn’t get through and the chance went unconverted.

Pragyan Gogoi - 6.0

Sr Gogoi came on to replace Mashoor in the 70th minute. He won one ground duel out of a possible three and maintained a good passing accuracy of around 83%.

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Aaron Evans - 6.0

Evans came on to replace NorthEast United’s talisman Romain Philippoteaux. He completed 11 out of his 15 passes, including a long ball that could’ve turned into a goal.

Parthib Gogoi - NA

Gogoi Jr came on late in the game and couldn’t make much of an impact.

Rupert Nongrum - 6.0

Rupert made his second debut for the Highlanders in what was a night to forget. He made a tackle and completed his passes with an accuracy of 75% during his time on the pitch.

Kerala Blasters (By Anaswara V Rajan)

Prabhsukhan Gill – 7

The custodian was steady today as he added another clean-sheet to his name. Gill stood tall against the Highlanders and denied them every time they created a chance.

Sandeep Singh – 7.5

Sandeep Singh had a worthy performance in defence for his team. The first half saw him contributing decent attacks in the final third. He created two chances and provided an assist for the third goal of the match.

Marko Leskovic – 6.5

He marshaled a pretty average backline for the majority of the game. But he was quite good compared to the previous matches and held the backline together and helped his keeper keep a clean-sheet.

Hormipam Ruivah – 6.5

The level-headed youngster displayed outstanding performance in the defensive line.  Ruivah displayed his natural mature gameplay and kept a check on NorthEast United's attackers.

Nishu Kumar – 6.0

Nishu Kumar was quite good throughout the match. At the beginning of the second half, when NEUFC’s Jon Gaztanaga got on the ball in the middle of the field and took a good turn, Nishu took him out with a heavy challenge and got the first yellow card of the game.

Rahul KP – 6.5

Rahul was brilliant on the pitch as always. He provided one assist and also got some opportunities in finishing.

Ivan Kalyuzhnyi – 7

He made an early attack as he got the ball outside the box and whipped in a cross but it was cleared away by NEUFC. He worked his socks off by running all throughout the pitch.

Jeakson Singh – 6.5

Jeakson did quite well today as in every game he has played so far.  He was solid in the middle of the park and combined well with his teammates on most occasions.

Saurav Mandal – 7.0

The midfielder had a good outing in the match. He had a shot on target and made good contributions in bits and pieces. He was the one who played the ball into the box that led to Kerala Blasters' opener.

Adrian Luna – 7

The twinkle-toed Uruguayan did his job well as usual. He failed in finishing but created chances four times. Luna was lively as always with his great on and off-the-ball movements.

Dimitrios Diamantakos – 7

Dimitrios Diamantakos struck at the beginning of the second half and gave Kerala Blasters a much-needed lead. He himself was in a good position inside the box on the left-hand side and took a wild attempt with his left foot as he got the ball from Rahul KP.

Substitutes

Apostolos Giannou – 5

He came on as a substitute for Saurav Mandal in the 65th minute. He couldn’t make much impact on the pitch.

Sahal Abdul Samad– 9

Sahal Abdul Samad proved his worth by scoring twice after coming off the bench in the 66th minute. He has shown his ability to finish a ball. 

Lalthathanga Khawlhring – 5

Did not have much to do as he came off the bench in the 87th minute. He couldn’t make an impact in the game.

Victor Mongil – 5

Victor Mongil came in as a substitute for Ivan Kalyuzhnyi in the second half. He couldn't do much in the game after playing only three minutes.

Jessel Carneiro – 5

The captain did an average effort in the defense line as he didn’t get much playtime today.