Ratings: Adrian Luna stars in Kerala Blasters' Jamshedpur triumph

Kerala Blasters have registered two back to back wins in the ISL now.

Coming from a 2-1 victory against Bengaluru FC in the Indian Super League (ISL) opener, Kerala Blasters were up against the men of steel, Jamshedpur FC. The red miners were at the Jawaharlal Nehru stadium after sharing spoils with East Bengal in Kolkata.

Kerala Blasters are levelled with Mohun Bagan on the top the tabel, after an impressive city against Jamshepdur. The game was an exciting affair, that saw a lot of high action drama, added with the intensity of either teams. Kerala scored the only goal of the game, courtesy of a magic strike from Luna, to hand them another crucial three points.

Here are the player ratings from the game

Kerala Blasters (By Keshava Verma)

Sachin Suresh - 7.5

Sachin came to Kerala’s rescue in the dying stages of the game, with a stellar save. Other than that, the keeper was also up to the task whenever needed. His clearances and distribution were also on point.

Prabir Das - 7

Prabir had a slightly underwhelming performance in comparison to what is expected from him. Despite putting up a great defensive shift, his passing seemed unsettled, and the player wasn’t even pretty impactful in the attacking transitions.

Pritam Kotal - 7

Pritam wasn’t very effective with his long balls tonight, but had a great game defensively. The centre back ensured that Jaamshedpur’s attack remained quiet for the majority of the game, and won a number of crucial aerial duels.

Milos Drincic - 7.5

Drincic not only managed to hold back a frightful Jamshedpur frontline, but also added a lot more fluidity for the Blasters throughout the game. The centre back was amongst the players with the most number of passess in the game. Other than that, Drincic also successfully managed to win six duels.

Aiban Dohling - 7

Aiban had a decent game in the backline, and was very effective with Aimen on the left flank. With three interceptions and three tackles to his name, he once again proved himself on the big stage.

Mohammed Aimen - 7.5

Aimen had another incredible game tonight, as he seeks to cement a place in the starting lineup. The 20 year old was subjected to some great passing and trickery, and was a joy to watch on the wings.

Danish Farooq Bhat - 7.5

Danish had a great shift in the midfield, and successfully handled much of the midfield work for Kerala in their transitional phases. Despite not enjoying a great time in his forward plays, Danish made an impact defensively, by denying Chukwu from dropping deep and helping in the build up.

Jeakson Singh - 8

Jeakson was easily amongst one of the best players on the field tonight, and was a tireless machine in the middle of the park. His exceptional blocks, clinical interceptions and pinpoint passing, greatly aided to Kerala’s win today.

Daisuke Sakai - 7.5

Daisuke was a tremendous force in the wings for Kerala, and added up to his performance from the previous game. The winger had the most number of sprints in the game, and it was his clinical passing, that set up the opener for Kerala.

Kwame Peprah - 6.5

Peprah had a slightly disappointing game, as the young Ghanian got no sight of the goal. In the 62 minutes that Kwame played, he failed to register a single shot, and was even not successful in establishing a link with Adrian in the frontline.

Adrian Luna - 8.5

Adrian Luna had an impeccable impact on the game, as it was his goal which settled the score for the Blasters. Also, with a number of key passes, and shots on goal, Adrian easily had the biggest say in the result tonight.

Substitutions

Dimitri Diamantakos - 7.5

Diamantakos injected a lot of energy into the attack, and even assisted Luna’s goal. Despite having just recovered from an injury, Diamantakos made a great impact.

Vibin Mohanan - 7.5

Vibin also boosted Kerala’s midfield after coming on, and helped the Blasters immensely in finding a goal, and sealing another victory.

Freddy Lallawmawma - N/A

Freddy helped Kerala’s defense in dealing with Jamshedpur’s relentless attack in the final stages of the game.

Nihal Sudheesh - N/A

Nihal came on in extra time, to inject a few fresh legs.

Jamshedpur FC (By: Analoy Majumder)

TP Rehenesh: 7.5

Against the yellow army TP Rehenesh in the starting looked confident under the post. Rehenesh made a couple of good saves and important collections but could have done better from the goal he conceded.

Dinpuia: 7.0

Dinpuia did well today defensively, won multiple duels against the KBFC forwards and committed few important tackles in the final third.

Pratik Chaudhari: 7.0

Pratik Chaudhuri gave good defensive support to EL Sinho and made some important blockings in the final third and denied the KBFC strikers from scoring. Also came for overlapping in search of goals in times of corners and set-pieces. 

EL Sinho: 8.0

EL Sinho exactly started from where he left off last match. He was the key defender in the Jamshedpur FC’s backline today. Made some brilliant coverings in front of goal. Won multiple duels against the attackers and timings of his tackles and interceptions were perfect. 

Imran Khan: 6.0

Imran Khan's day was undoubtedly not in the cards when Ricky replaced him after he had to leave the field during the opening period of the game due to an uncertain injury. 

Pronay Halder: 7.0

Pronay Halder was the midfield general for the Men of Steel today. Delivered good command in the middle both defensively and offensively. Paired well with Stevanovic in creating attacking chances.

Len Doungel: 6.5

Doungel was active in the sides today, made some good runs through the midfield and paired well with Chima Chukwu. Len constantly carried the ball into the attack, made great passes out of the midfield but was taken off at half time.

Jeremy Manzorro: 7.0

Manzorro created scoring opportunities for the Red Miners today in the attacking third, but he was unable to take them. The playmaker won four ground battles in the middle and posed a persistent danger in the attacking part.

Alen Stevanovic: 7.5

The skipper did well in finding positive attacking chances for his team. Delivered good command in the midfield. The midfielder put a lot of pressure on the players, resulting in a number of good tackles and a few crucial interceptions while consistently winning duels and regaining possession but was taken off in the last quarter. 

Nikhil Barla: 6.5

Nikhil Barla was not at his best today, failed to deliver any positive impact so was taken off at half time by Scott Cooper.

Daniel Chima Chukwu: 6.5

Chima Chukwu nearly scored but was unable to capitalise. Exhibited excellent play in the offensive third and provided his team with important attacking support. Chukwu also won a few duels in the centre by using his strong physique, but he also committed numerous unnecessary fouls.

Substitutions

Ricky Lallawmawma: 7.0

Ricky came within the first quarter of the match after replacing Imran. Fulfilled the role of Imran quite well in the backline. Made some important interceptions and did not allow much space to the Kerala Blasters’s attackers.

Emil Benny: 8.0

Emil Benny after coming in the second half brought more creativity and positivity in the playing style of Red Miners. He made the right channel more active and helped the team both defensively and offensively.

Nongdamba: 6.5

After entering the game in the second half, Nongdamba performed admirably. He won a few scuffles in the midfield and provided Chukwu and Jeremy with useful offensive support, but he was unable to score the crucial goal for JFC.

Sanan: 6.5

Sana came on the pitch a few minutes before the stoppage time in search of the equaliser in place of Pronoy Halder but did not leave any noticeable impact. Made a few positive runs with the ball but failed to cast his best spell.

Rei Taichikwa: 7.0

Rei came in place of the skipper Stevanovic and played his part quite well in the left channel. Brought in more prowess in the middle and came very close to goal tried and tested the KBFC goalie but did not find the back of the net.