I am back again looking at the season that unfolded for ISL side Delhi Dynamos. Last time out I had a decent time of writing as Delhi decided to start playing football and improved drastically in the first month of 2018. Quickly looking at February, it seems they played another five games and their results seem to be going more their way. Let’s not quickly look at this though, let’s get into the details of each game for Delhi in the month of February.
Game 1: Chennaiyin (H) 1-1
Delhi had one of the hardest games of their season for their first game in February. Delhi found themselves hosting high-flyers Chennaiyin with Delhi coming off the back of a crushing 2-1 defeat to Kerala Blasters. Chennaiyin were coming off a defeat of their own, against league leaders Bengaluru. All in all, this game had the making of an easy win for Chennaiyin, however, Delhi stood their ground.
The first half of football was awful and the game looked like it was a battle of the two worst sides in the league. Delhi were going back to their old selves and Chennaiyin looked horrendous for a team challenging at the top.
However, all the action was saved for the second half as Deli were awarded a penalty on fifty-nine minutes. Nigerian Prince Kalu Uche stepped up and converted the spot-kick to put Delhi in the lead. Delhi did their best to hold on to their one-goal advantage, however, Chennaiyin finally scored on eighty-one minutes when Mailson scored. Chennaiyin managed to recover a point from the game and the result was a good one for Delhi.
Game 2: NorthEast United (A) 0-1
Delhi didn’t have long to recover and prepare for their next game as they traveled to NorthEast just four days after the draw against Chennaiyin. This was a big game for Delhi as they were facing another struggling side and had a chance to close the gap on their rivals. NorthEast had just to Jamshedpur so their confidence wasn’t at an all-time high, meaning they were there for the taking and that’s exactly what Delhi did.
Once again, the first half of football from both sides was atrocious and this proved to be a game between two poor sides who were playing without confidence. Literally, nothing happened in the first half and the score stayed 0-0 heading into the second half.
Both teams seem to be a little more urgent with their play as they knew time was running out. NorthEast were having the best of the chances, however, both teams weren’t finding the net. That was until the GOAT of football Kalu Uche decided to rifle a shot into the back of the net on eighty-seven minutes and win the game for Delhi.
Game 3: FC Goa (A) 1-1
Delhi had a much longer break this time around, specifically a week, to prepare for another tough away game. This time it was Goa who were playing hosts and we all know what Goa can do to teams of the highest caliber, never mind a poor side like Delhi. However, Goa had just lost to Chennaiyin, a team Delhi managed to get a point off earlier in the month.
The first half of football was much better, however, that was only because Goa were playing Delhi. Goa instantly smelt blood and went for an early kill. However, all credit to Delhi, they managed to silence Goa for just over fifty minutes. Boumous finally scored for Goa on fifty-three minutes and the game seemed to be slipping out of Delhi’s hands by the minute. However, Uche and the God that he is was having none of it and managed to score a late equaliser for Delhi on eighty-one minutes. Delhi managed to hold on for the point, carrying on their unbeaten run in February.
Game 4: ATK (H) 4-3
With their unbeaten streak still alive after the draw with Goa, Delhi played host to fellow bottom side and defending champions ATK. Uche was looking to carry on his form and score another goal, which he had managed in his previous three. Obviously, he did and he didn’t just get one. However, ATK weren’t backing down.
This game is a solid contender for game of the season. It was a playground for two of the best strikers in the league, Robbie Keane, and Kalu Uche. Uche managed to get the first goal on twenty-two minutes. However, ATK replied on thirty-seven minutes through a goal from Mbatha. The first half ended 1-1 and the game had just begun.
The second half started and my God was it a good half of football. Keane obviously didn’t like Uche throwing down the gauntlet on twenty-two minutes as he went and scored two goals in six minutes to put ATK 3-1 up after sixty minutes. Uche just laughed at Keane’s attempt to be as good as him and got Delhi back in it on sixty-nine minutes. Seityasen Singh managed to equalise two minutes later and complete a fantastic comeback from Delhi.
The game seemed to be going to finish as a draw, however, Uche wasn’t having any of it. He managed to slip Mirabaje through on ninety-two minutes for the winning goal and send Robbie Keane crying home.
Game 5: Mumbai City (H) 5-1
Delhi only had three days to recover from their great comeback against ATK as they played host to playoff hoping Mumbai City in what was another cracking game. Delhi were still unbeaten in February and Uche had five goals in four games. Could he score in every game in the month of February? Of course he could.
Sekar scored Delhi’s first goal of the game after just five minutes. Mumbai had looked quite shaky at the back and Delhi definitely took advantage of that. Sekar’s goal was the only real thing to happen in the first half so onto the second half.
The second half had absolutely everything a football fan would want. Mumbai managed to get an equaliser early on through Everton Santos. However, Delhi weren’t going to crumble, instead, they took the game by its throat and rammed it through around four walls. Mirabaje scored his second in the same amount of games on seventy-four minutes, to put Delhi 2-1 up. Then Chowdhary was sent off for Delhi and Tavora quickly followed him for Mumbai. Ten men didn’t stop Delhi and Arana converted a penalty on eighty-one minutes. Of course, Uche had to get involved and he scored his sixth goal in five games to put Delhi 4-1 upon eighty-five minutes. Chhangte finished the game off on ninety-one minutes and Delhi came out as 5-1 winners, keeping their unbeaten streak in February alive.
P: 5 | W: 3 | D: 2 | L: 0 | GS: 12 | GC: 6 | PTS: 11
What a month for Delhi as they went through the month of February unbeaten. Also, what about that Nigerian Lord Kalu Uche, he managed to score six goals in five games and he scored at least once in every game through the month of February. It’s funny that Delhi fans and their Director think they can just simply replace him… Anyway, before I get the site taken down, I’ll just quickly say that we have one final month to look at before saying goodbye to Delhi’s 2017/18 ISL season.
