NEW DELHI, Nov 16: Delhi Dynamos FC slipped to their fourth defeat, going down at home to Kerala Blasters FC by a solitary goal at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium here tonight. Penn Orji came on as a substitute to fire in the match winner with a low shot in the second half. The visitors march up to third place in the Hero Indian Super League table with 12 points while the hosts stay rooted to the bottom with seven points.
The Dynamos came out all guns blazing in the first half realising that they needed an early goal to take control of the game. They kept possession for long periods and created a few chances but were unable to find the target. Alessandro Del Piero came back into the side and was at the heart of most Delhi attacks.
The away side sat behind and did most of the defending, basing their strategy on counter-attack. Sandesh Jhingan was again the main outlet for the South Indians as he bombed up and down the right wing.
The best chance of the match came when Mads Junker put in an excellent cross from the right. Del Piero ran on to it and headed goalwards but to his chagrin, his colleague Adil Khan who also made a run, blocked his goal bound shot. The ball lobbed up and Cedric Hengbart was on hand to clear the danger.
The chances came thick and fast for both teams in the second half. The home side were the more attacking of the two as they pushed forward to break the deadlock. Iain Hume was a nuisance to the hosts as he created havoc in Delhi’s half with his dangerous runs.
In the 61st minute, Hume stole the ball from left back Shouvik Ghosh and played it brilliantly across for Orji who had come in as a 56th minute substitute. The Nigerian took an excellent first touch and slotted it past Kristof Van Hout under the Delhi bar. Even the introduction of the mesmeric Gustavo Dos Santos wasn’t enough for the hosts to pull a goal back as they slipped to their second defeat at home.
David James’ team return home to take on league leaders Atletico de Kolkata on November 21 while Harm van Veldhoven’s side travel to Guwahati to meet NorthEast United FC on November 24.
*(UNI)
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