English
WHAT A GAME!!!! Match played between Delhi Dynamos FC and Kerala can be termed as one of the most entertaining matches of this season. We witnessed everything here, from red card to injury, from some amazing saves to some brilliant goals and then, of course, first penalty round of ISL 2016.
First half started slow on pace and it was rather dull though till the 20th minute but things started picking up from there. A blunder from Sandip Nandy allowed Marcelo to score in an empty net. But, Kerala responded almost immediately. Within 3 minutes, Duckens Nazon came up with the equaliser and got things exciting again.
The real turning point came a few minutes later when Milan Singh was sent off for a high jab and Delhi was down to ten men. Kerala was then in charge of the game and was dominating Delhi, but, in the final seconds of the half, Rubén González Rocha stepped up for his team. Scored a header off a free kick and brought the aggregate score to 2-2.
Delhi came back charging in the second half and dominated most part of the later 45 minutes of the game but the second half ends with the same score of first half with an aggregate of 2-2, taking the match into the extra time. Both teams had their fair share of chances but failed to grab them. However, the talking point of the half was the goal-line clearance from Sandesh Jhingan off Malouda’s header. Apart from that, both teams were almost equal in terms of performance and game was pushed to extra time.
Delhi came close to scoring in extra time but couldn’t. Both the teams failed to break the deadlock in extra time and the game entered the round of penalty shoot-outs. Kerala won the toss and chose to take a penalty kick first. While Kerala converted their 3 out of 4 penalties, Delhi failed to even score one and it was the visiting side who won 3-0 in the shootout making their way into the finals. So it’s Atletico de Kolkata vs Kerala Blasters in final of ISL season 3, which will be held on 18th December, Sunday.
Post Match Awards:
Delhi Dynamos FC win the Club Award for winning the match but wouldn’t be too happy with that as they failed to book their spot in the finals. Sandip Nandy wins the Swift Moment of the Match Award for his superb save in the shoot-out. Cedric Hengbart with a tireless performance gets the Amul Fittest Player of the Match Award. Marcos Tébar with his assist to Rocha’s goal wins the Winning Pass of the Match Award. Lalchhawnkima for his all round performance is declared as the Emerging Player of the Match. Rubén González Rocha with a true captain’s performance and leveling the score on aggregate with his header on the brink of half time is adjudged as the Hero of the Match.
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