After narrowly missing out on the three points at the Salt Lake stadium in their previous game, Juan Pedro Benali’s Northeast United FC was highly determined to not miss that important victory tonight as they hosted Kerala Blasters FC on their home turf.
Meanwhile, Kerala Blasters FC touched down in Guwahati after their scintillating comeback victory against East Bengal FC. The confidence was sky-high for Mikael Stahre and the boys after this victory in front of the great crowd in Kochi. So without the slightest doubt, KBFC was also committed to not making things easy for the hosts in which they indeed succeeded.
From the kickoff itself, this match didn’t fail to keep the spectators on the edge of their seats as opportunities came flying in for both sides. Noah Sadaoui was of course the first one to create an impactful opportunity on the pitch in the third minute as he struck one from the edge of the box which Gurmeet Singh effortlessly captured in his hands.
Experienced ISL defender Pritam Kotal is definitely back on his previous form as we are witnessing top-class performance from the veteran in his last two matches for Kerala Blasters FC, saving the team not once or twice, but numerous times by his individual brilliance. Montenegrin centre-back and captain, Milos Drincic also did great for the team as he stood there as a great wall inside the box.
Northeast United FC also posed a constant threat to the opponents as Ajaraie and Jithin flew through the flanks, waiting for the right opportunity to feed the ball into the box hoping to connect the pass to someone and successfully turn around the game but the KBFC defense for sure had other plans. Northeast United FC will turn defensive once they score that important initial goal which is a main strategy Juan Benali implements in his team.
Equal misses from Noah Sadaoui and Guillermo Fernandez did cost both sides as they potentially could have had the upper hand in the game. The Northeast United FC fans managed to create a spectacular atmosphere in the stadium which the team missed a lot in the previous seasons. Their glory in the Durand Cup and recent top-notch performances must have lit the true fire among The Highlanders.
Finally, it was in the 58th minute when we saw a goal from Alaeddine Ajaraie which was cleverly executed as a normal but powerful free-kick that tricked Sachin Suresh and surpassed the goal line which made it 1-0 in favor of NEUFC. Soon in the 66th minute, it happened again. The same man who equalized and turned things around for Kerala Blasters FC in their previous match, did it once again tonight as his strike from the right extreme of the box went in at flashing speed.
Read: ISL 2024-25 — Peprah comes clutch as Kerala Blasters win their first
Guillermo Fernandez did shake the net for a second time in the 71st minute but the timely offside call from the referee saved Kerala Blasters FC from facing a bitter away defeat. Northeast United FC was down to 10 men in the 81st minute as defender Asheer Akthar was sent off after pulling off a harsh foul on Noah Sadaoui.
Another key moment of the match was in the 80th minute as Guwahati witnessed the comeback of midfield maestro and captain Adrain Luna after missing out on the first 2 games for Kerala Blasters FC. After that red card, KBFC was in fire form in the last 10 minutes as chances were created again and again. But the biggest heartbreak for the Yellow Army was the back-to-back misses from Mohammed Aimen which if went in, should have benefited them massively.
Kerala Blasters FC has claimed the fifth spot in the table and is set to face Odisha FC next on October 3rd, 2023, Thursday and Northeast United FC, in the 6th spot, prepped up to face FC Goa on October 4th, 2023, Friday.
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