Nabi, Len, Brandon and Kuttymani: Here's how the ISL's fresh faces did in Delhi vs Mumbai

When a journalist asked Delhi Dynamos manager Roberto Carlos why Adil Nabi, the English loan import from West Bromwich Albion, hadn’t played as much as he was expected to, the Dynamos’ media manager and a few other Delhi-based sports reporters started giggling. As it happens, Carlos has been getting the same question before every match, since Nabi had seen only 30 minutes of action in seven games prior to the Mumbai City match. Perhaps he was sick of the questions because Carlos threw Nabi in to in the thick of things with top-spot in the Indian Super League at stake against Mumbai. The 21-year-old forward had a mixed game, showing flashes of brilliance but also moments that emphasized why Carlos had not played him. Carlos also gave Seminlen ‘Len’ Doungel his season debut, and the Indian outshone his more well-known teammate. [caption id=“attachment_2498732” align=“alignleft” width=“600”]  Adil Nabi of Delhi Dynamos FC got a start against Mumbai. ISL[/caption] Mumbai City also played a couple of new faces – Sampath Kumar Kuttymani and the exciting young prospect everyone’s been talking about, Brandon Fernandes. Here’s how the four did in the match, which ended 1-1 after an injury time equaliser from familiar face Robin Singh: Adil Nabi: He made a bright start to the game and was one of the reasons Delhi attacked with some free-flowing football in the first half. He almost got at the end of a Souvik Chakraborty early cross before intercepting a pass, putting Malouda through and then flicking the Frenchman’s cross onto the woodwork in the 11th minute. Eight minutes later, he dropped deep and built a sublime move with Malouda and Richard Gadze, part of which was a ‘Zidane 360’ from the former England U-17 player. Nabi continued to drop into midfield and put Gadze through twice - once with a glanced header and once with a clever brushed pass from a Malouda’s drilled through ball. The only corner he took was atrocious and he was offside five times. Carlos later said: “Nabi performed well, it was good,” before suggesting that he was tired of talking about him. Len: Len’s performances for NorthEast United last season earned him a move to Bengaluru FC and an immediate loan back to Delhi for the ISL. Playing for the first time in two-and-a-half months (due to injury), Len impressed with his direct running, array of tricks and fearless approach. The 21-year-old was a livewire before cramping up and being replaced by Robin Singh – nutmegging Mumbai’s Franz Bertin once and pulling off a better 360 than Nabi at another point, putting two defenders to sleep in the process. His strength was also commendable as he came up against Lalchhuanmawia Fanai. He won most battles, including the ones where he had to hold off defenders in tight areas. His low dinked cross for Gadze was stopped in its path at the last moment but Carlos was mighty impressed with his player, saying that they were all over Mumbai in the first half because of him. “I expected more but am happy with this match. It would have been better if I had scored,” Len said post-match, adding that he was comfortable on the wings despite preferring a striker’s role. Brandon Fernandes: Brandon came on in the 63rd minute in an appearance which will go a long way to building his match fitness. He took one shot which whizzed over the bar and completed 10 of his 15 passes, stationed on the right. He also tracked back impressively, had a no-nonsense approach when Mumbai were containing pressure and played some clever passes with Selim Benachour before a fine give-and-go with Sunil Chhetri. Brandon has been talked about in Indian football circles for quite some time now and with Chhetri and Sony Norde travelling for India’s World Cup Qualifiers in the next week, the Goan will be thrust into the limelight. “Brandon brings in lots of energy into the side and I have played with him in preseason as well. He has good quality and will help us in the long run and the national team as well. I am very pleased with what I saw,” Nicolas Anelka said after the match. Kuttymani: The 29-year-old has solid experience with Mumbai FC, but the ISL seemed a tad too intense for him. He was hauled off in the 63rd minute from his position as right midfielder, with an onus on staying back. Eleven of his 18 passes connected and he made two tackles in over an hour. Brandon made seven in 27 minutes. Delhi next host Atletico de Kolkata on 14 November, a day after Mumbai welcome FC Pune City for the Maharashtra derby. The writer tweets @TheFalseNo9