Football
ESPN staff 9y

Kerala defeat Delhi in ISL, move to one point behind top two

There has been a new twist in the scramble for the top slots of the Indian Super League (ISL) standings. Kerala Blasters FC might have taken the long journey up north to the Indian capital but player-manager David James' team were a happy bunch late on Sunday evening as they defeated Delhi Dynamos 1-0 at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium. The win takes the southern franchise's points tally to 12 -- leaving them one point behind league leaders Atletico de Kolkata and Chennaiyin FC.

Kerala's Nigerian midfielder Penn Orji made the difference in the match -- coming on as a substitute in the 56th minute and blasting home the match winner five minutes later.

The defeat plummeted hosts Delhi -- who boast Italian World Cup winning striker Alessandro Del Piero as their marquee player -- to the bottom of the table with seven points from nine matches. Kerala, though, are in form having kept a fourth consecutive clean sheet thanks to the heroics of former England goalkeeper James, who was supported well by his defenders.

Delhi started the game strongly keeping possession for long periods. Del Piero, who celebrated his 40th birthday on Nov. 9 when these two sides met in the reverse fixture in Kochi, was at the heart of most of Delhi's offensive moves.

Kerala were happy to sit back and focus on defending with men behind the ball at all times. Sandesh Jhingan, Kerala's right-back, orchestrated a few counter-attacking moves down the right.

The best chance of the first half came when Delhi's Danish striker Mads Junker's cross from the right was met by Del Piero. However, the Italian legend was visibly frustrated when his teammate Adil Khan inadvertently got in the way of the goal-bound header. The ball lobbed up off Khan and Kerala's French centre-back Cedric Hengbart dealt with the situation decisively.

The second half witnessed a more high-tempo affair with chances galore at both ends. In the 61st minute, Kerala's Canadian striker Iain Hume dispossessed Delhi left-back Shouvik Ghosh and played in Orji. The Nigerian beat Delhi custodian Kristof Van Hout.

James refused to take individual credit on his team's fourth successive clean sheet in his post-match conference. "If every individual in the team has the desire of not conceding, then, that desire translates to the entire team not conceding," he said. "We all are playing unbelievingly well. Today, we made many clearances and tackles and that's what we need to do."

James' team will be at home on Nov. 21 when they take on league leaders Kolkata. Delhi will travel to Guwahati to play NorthEast United FC three days later.

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