ISL 2019-20: Kerala Blasters 5-1 Hyderabad FC - Talking points

Hyderabad FC suffered its eighth defeat of the ISL 2019-20 season, losing 5-1 to Kerala Blasters in Kochi.

Published : Jan 06, 2020 10:19 IST

Vlatko Drobarov's (33) goal to put Kerala Blasters 2-1 up changed the course of the match.
Vlatko Drobarov's (33) goal to put Kerala Blasters 2-1 up changed the course of the match.
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Vlatko Drobarov's (33) goal to put Kerala Blasters 2-1 up changed the course of the match.

Kerala Blasters lifted itself up to seventh place on the ISL table with a 5-1 home win against Hyderabad FC, which it had lost to in the reverse fixture, at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in Kochi on Sunday.

Here Sportstar looks at the key points from the match.

Hyderabad FC hits the nadir

For Phil Brown and his players, the season can't get any worse.

The team has looked out of sorts and had lost seven of its 10 matches coming into the fixture against Kerala Blasters. Its defence had conceded 21 goals and the squad would have been low on confidence despite facing the team it had beaten earlier in the season, coming from behind to secure the three points.

MATCH REPORT

It took the lead through Bobo following the interplay between Abhishek Halder and Marcelo Pereira. It was an uplifting moment for Hyderabad FC, though with 76 minutes left to play and having suffered one setback after another up to this point of the season, it faced an emotional test to potentially come away with a win.

The injury to midfielder Rafael Lopez Gomez triggered Hyderabad's collapse and it conceded three goals in the space of 13 first-half minutes to go into half-time trailing 3-1.

Kerala was the team with the momentum and it took advantage of more sloppy defending from Hyderabad, which could have conceded at least a couple of more goals.

The 5-1 scoreline didn't flatter Kerala Blasters and for Hyderabad, this is the result that probably puts playoff qualification out of reach.

Goalkeeper Laxmikant Kattimani has a night to forget

Kattimani's performance was symptomatic of Hyderabad's season and his task was made difficult by the poor defending in front of him.

He prematurely rushed off his line after Kerala Blasters defender Gianni Zuiverloon threaded a throughball to Bartholomew Ogbeche, who then rounded him and rolled the ball into an empty net.

That mistake perhaps contributed to Kattimani's indecision when Seityasen Singh struck from long range, getting the ball to swerve and dip. The goalkeeper, rather than fisting the ball, tried to palm it away and the pace and swerve on the ball proved too strong.

It was the Kerala Blasters' fourth goal and came just before the hour-mark, taking away any slim chance of a Hyderabad fightback.

MATCH BLOG

Kerala Blasters' attackers have field day

Kerala's attacking display contributed as much to the match finishing 5-1 as Hyderabad's poor defensive performance, with Messi Bouli, Ogbeche, Seityasen, Jessel Carneiro among those who shone in front of their home fans.

Seityasen's delivery from wide areas had posed a threat to the Hyderabad defence even before he crossed for Vlatko Drobarov to convert from close range and put Kerala 2-1 ahead coming from a goal down. He added a goal to that assist to complete a satisfying night's work.

Messi Bouli ran the Hyderabad defence ragged and it couldn't cope with the Cameroonian's quick feet and ability to beat players. Along with Seityasen, he created the joint-most chances (4) and capped off the night with the assist for Ogbeche's second goal.

Ogbeche had opportunities to score a hat-trick as Hyderabad became desperate for the final whistle, but he showed striker's instincts to finish off the chance to equalise after being played in by Zuiverloon and was clinical in volleying Messi Bouli's pass played across the face of goal.

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