Goa: The Indian Super League saw another upset of this season as mid-table NorthEast United FC beat ATK Mohun Bagan 2-1 at the Fatorda Stadium in Goa on Tuesday (January 26). Luis Machado and Federico Gallego were on the scoresheet for the Islanders while Roy Krishna netted one for the visitors.
The Mariners dominated possession on the ball from kick-off however they were unable to make something happen in and around that final third largely thanks to the defensive resilience of the NorthEast side.
They seemed to deliver their peak performance against the heavyweight sides as they played with intensity and grit to hold the visitors in the first half.
Antonio Habas in the second half, took off David Williams for Manvir Singh hoping to create something as they were missing their magic a bit. Machado against the run of play in the 60th minute, broke the deadlock for the Islanders setting the tone for half-filled with drama.
The winger’s challenge on Tiri to win the ball before slotting it past goalkeeper Arindam Bhattacharya wasn’t fair with the linesman putting his flag up but the referee, despite being in a good position allowed the goal to stay.
NorthEast opened up quite a lot after that creating a few good chances testing Bhattacharya’s ability. ATK got their equaliser through Krishna at the end of an exquisite through pass by Carl McHugh.
However, Gallego made the evening to remember when he cut inside from the left side before bending it round the keeper to seal the full three points for his side to place themselves at fifth in the table.
