It was a comfortable 3-1 victory for NorthEast United FC over Odisha FC in the Sunday encounter of the Indian Super League (ISL). The 93rd match was played at Tilak Maidan Stadium in Vasco, Goa.
Odisha FC conceded three goals and pulled one back at the end of the first half. Match ended with the same scoreline as in the first half. The Kalinga Warriors struggled defensively which reflected through goals and 5 yellow cards whereas it was a winning team player who received a red card in form of two yellows.
Things have gone bad to worse for Odisha FC as they came home with the 10th loss of the campaign after this defeat against the Highlanders. Now, the Kalinga Warriors are still at the bottom of the league table with 9 points in 17 games.
The Highlanders are now on 6 games unbeaten run and have now secured 3rd spot in the league table. 26 points to their name in 17 matches and they are on a great run.
NORTHEAST UNITED FC 3-1 ODISHA FC: TEAM NEWS
Again, Khalid Jamil (Interim Head Coach) used the 4-3-3 formation with the same set of players. The Highlanders are in good sync which led to favorable results. On the other hand, Interim Head Coach, Gerald Peyton, made few changes in the squad by replacing top scorer Diego Mauricio with Manuel Onwa and Daniel Lalhlimpuia with Gaurav bora in the mid field. The Kalinga Warriors played with the basic formation of 4-4-2.
NORTHEAST UNITED FC 3-1 ODISHA FC: MATCH ANALYSIS
The Highlanders were on the hunt since the start of the game and Luis Machado’s early attempt was deflected for a corner. Machado eventually took the lead for NorthEast United FC in the 9th minute with a fantabulous volley on Ashutosh Mehta’s cross into the box.
The second blow for Odisha FC came in the 19th minute when Deshorn Brown finished through the legs of Arshdeep Singh. It was Federico Gallego who made the fantastic through ball for the Jamaican who scored his fourth goal. Gallego and Machado were on different wavelength altogether. It was the 24th minute when Gallego came up with another crazy chipped ball for Machado who headed the ball past Arshdeep Singh.
For the Juggernauts, nothing was going right but ending moments of the first half brought some spark. Bradden Inman took an attempt from a narrow angle and it took a deflection off Mansoor Shereef before going in.
With the second half commencing, the Highlanders were exactly like they were in first half. Odisha FC had few chances but more yellow in the whole match. It was little unfortunate for Gurjinder Kumar when he received second yellow in 85th minute.
NOTABLE PERFORMANCES:
Federico Gallego: The magician of the team was again the artist of the game. Beautiful plays and through balls, he was exceptional with 2 assists. Uruguayan has been in top form for the Highlanders this season.
Luis Machado: The forward is delivering what he is expected to. Again on target 2 times in the match and nearly missed the hat-trick.
For the next round of matches in the Indian Super League, NorthEast United FC will go-up against Chennaiyin FC on 18th February,2021, and Odisha FC will face FC Goa on 17th February,2021.
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