Kerala Blasters have found their way into the Indian Super League playoffs – and they’ve largely got Iain Hume to thank for it.
The Canadian veteran (above) notched his fourth goal of the season on Tuesday, the decisive tally in Blasters’ 1-0 victory against Pune City. That win, in the club’s final game of the regular season, clinched a spot in the semifinals this weekend. They’ll know their opponent after Wednesday’s match between Goa and Atletico de Kolkata.
Elsewhere in Asia, Dejan Jakovic also had a big role to play in his club’s final game of the campaign. He and his teammates on Shimizu S-Pulse held Ventforet Kofu to a 0-0 draw on Friday – and that single point saved the club from relegation out of Japan’s top division.
The season is far from over for Dylan Carreiro, which is just as well, since he continued his fine form this week. On Saturday, the Canadian Under-20 midfielder scored his fifth goal in 10 appearances on loan at Arbroath, and it stood up as the winner in a 3-2 decision against Annan Athletic.
A former Canadian Under-20 midfielder, Tam Nsaliwa, also got on the score sheet this week, netting his first of the season in Turkey for Bucaspor, in a 3-0 win against Orduspor on Sunday.
Pedro Pacheco can usually be counted on to play the full 90 for CD Santa Clara, but on Sunday that plan was cut short, as he was sent off in the second half after earning his second yellow card. His side still prevailed 2-0 over Leixoes.
Atiba Hutchinson (who picked up a red card of his own in Europa League play a week and a half ago) did manage to put in his usual 90 minutes’ worth of work, as Besiktas cruised past Trabzonspor 3-0 on Saturday.
As for a few more of Canada’s youngsters, they also got plenty of exercise this week. Fraser Aird started on Wednesday then went the full 90 for Rangers on Saturday, Luca Gasparotto put in a full shift for Airdrieonians on Saturday, and Michael Petrasso went 75 minutes for Notts County on Tuesday.
Daniel Haber, whose playing time has increased massively since moving to Ayia Napa from Apollon Limassol in Cyprus, went the full 90 in Monday’s 0-0 draw with Ethnikos Achna. Fellow striker Tosaint Ricketts also went the distance, in Hapoel Haifa’s 4-0 defeat against Hapoel Be’er Sheva.
Lucas Cavallini played the first half for Centro Atletico Fenix in a 3-1 win on Sunday, while Andre Hainault (VfR Aalen) and Randy Edwini-Bonsu (Stuttgarter Kickers) both made appearances as second-half subs this week.
