Ratings: Mauricio steals matchball as Odisha FC secure AFC Cup group stage spot

Odisha FC have qualified for the 2023-24 AFC Cup.

Odisha FC have defeated Gokulam Kerala in the playoff game for the AFC Cup 2023-24 group stage spot. Diego Mauricio's incredible hat-trick was more than enough to see Clifford Miranda’s men achieve another astounding feat, as they will now represent the nation in Asia’s second biggest club competition.

Here are the player ratings from the game.

Gokulam Kerala

Shibin Raj Kunniyil (GK) - 6

Shibin had a poor night in between the sticks, as he conceded three, and was also saved on a number of occasions by the crossbar.

Mohammed Jasim - 6

Jasim was not very much up to the task of facing such a strong attack of Odisha FC, and he visibly struggled with the physicality and pace of Diego, who often used the wing to initiate his attacks.

Pawan Kumar - 5

Pawan had a night to forget, as he was absolutely terrorised by the trickery and skill of Odisha FC’s attack. He was left completely clueless during the Juggernauts’ first goal, and also gave away a penalty in the second half.

Aminou Bouba - 5

Aminou was humiliated by Mauricio tonight. The Cameroonian fell short of Diego’s pace in Odisha’s first goal, and was beaten in a crucial one-on-one in their second.

Vikas Saini - 6

Vikas started off the game well, and was very much involved in the attacking phase. Vikas’s night was however made very difficult as the game progressed. Unfortunately, he was exploited by Nandhakumar Sekar and Victor Rodriguez.

Shilton D’Silva - 5.5 

Shilton put in a decent shift in the midfield tonight. He made some good attacking runs for his team, but did poorly to defend Diego’s run that ultimately led to a goal.

Farshad Noor - 7

Farshad was very skilful, and made a number of brilliant passes into the exposed areas of Odisha FC’s defence. He also scored a brilliant header in the closing stages of the first half.

Abdul Hakku - 6

Hakku didn’t have a good game tonight, and made a number of errors. He lost a majority of the duels he contested, and couldn’t do any good to his team’s struggling defence.

Sreekuttan VS - 6.5

Sreekuttan did really well in the wings, and used his pace to make life difficult for Narender Gahlot. His crossing abilities were also on point. He was a real spark for his team’s dim attacking efforts in the second half.

Sourav K - N/A

Sourav unfortunately, had to be substituted inside the opening few minutes due to an injury.

Sergio Mendigutxia - 6.5

Mendigutxia couldn’t make the most out of the opportunities presented to him tonight, and was disappointing with his finishing at times.

Substitutes

Thahir Zaman - 7

Thahir was exceptional on the pitch in the first half, and played a number of beautiful crosses. He even assisted Gokulam Kerala’s only goal. Zaman however couldn’t impact the game in any manner in the second half.

Noufal PN - 6.5

Brought on in the 73rd minute, Noufal made good use of his speed, and even played some crosses, but couldn’t do the job for his team.

Samuel Mensah Konney - 6

Samuel didn’t have much of an impact in the few minutes he was on the pitch.

Odisha FC

Amrinder Singh (GK) - 6.5

Amrinder came up to the task whenever required, and made some decent saves to see his team through in such a crucial tie.

Narender Gahlot - 6.5

Narender was dominated by Zaman in the first half, and struggled a lot. The player however, did well to bounce back in the second half, and took charge of his flank.

Osama Malik - 5.5

Osama was occasionally troubled by the physicality and pace of Sergio. He also left Noor completely free in the box, which led to his headed goal. He was taken off at half time.

Carlos Delgado - 7

Delgado managed Odisha FC’s backline very well, and came up with a number of crucial challenges to deny Gokulam Kerala.

Sahil Panwar - 5

Sahil was constantly tormented by an impressive Zaman on the sidelines. He was also struggling to keep up with the pace of the game. The player was brought off at half time

Thoiba Singh - 6.5

Thoiba was an energetic and aggressive figure in the Odisha FC midfield in the first half, but failed to shine in the centre-back position in the latter stages of the game.

Princeton Rebello - 7

Princenton was the absolute connection between Odisha FC's defence and attack, and did extremely well to facilitate Odisha’s build ups with his accurate passing.

Jerry Mawihmingthanga - 6.5

Jerry wasn’t very involved in the first half. He however, did well to make a few good runs in the second half, and also put in some decent crosses.

Victor Rodriguez - 7.5

Victor was once again the creative mastermind behind Odisha FC’s impressive performance. The Spaniard assisted his team’s opener, and struck two impressive worldies that unfortunately hit the woodwork.

Nandhakumar Sekar - 7

Nandha once again played out a great game, and made the job difficult for Gokulam Kerala from the wings. His understanding with Victor massively helped Odisha in their opener as well.

Diego Mauricio - 9

It was a magical night for the magical Diego Mauricio, as he scored a sensational hat-trick, and carried his team to victory. Diego was 10/10 with his passing, dribbling and shooting. He dropped in one of his best performances this season.

Substitutes

Saul Crespo - 8

Saul provided a lot of quality in the midfield after coming on. He also was a crucial part of the build-up that led to Odisha FC’s penalty.

Denechandra Meitei - 7

Dene came on for Sahil, and was comparatively much better than his teammate. Dene contributed defensively, and made his team’s backline very solid and compact. He was also heavily involved in the attacking phase of the game.

Aniket Jadhav - 6

Aniket was brought on in the final 10-15 minutes, and was only assigned with the task of holding on to the lead.

Paul Ramfangzauva - 6

Paul also had very little time on the pitch, and couldn’t make much of an impact.

Raynier Fernandes - N/A

Raynier was brought on around the 85th minute mark, for Nandha.