By Our Reporter
SHILLONG: A mouth-watering duel between the semi-finalists of last season furnished a lot of action but not much in terms of goals.
NorthEast United began their Hero Indian Super League Season 6 with a goalless draw away tothe defending champions Bengaluru FC at the Kanteerava Stadium in Bengaluru.
The matchkicked-off at 7.30 PM on a rainy evening.The hosts started dominating the initial minutes having the majority of ball possession in themidfield and a couple of chances which didn’t trouble Subhasish’s goal. The Highlanders had their first shot on target through Martin Chaves in the 21st minute. The Uruguayan took on three Blues’ defenders before launching his shot from the distance only to see his effort get saved by the opposition keeper. NorthEast United had their second clear chance from a throw-in, Redeem’s effort from close range fell perfectly for Martin who didn’t manage to put his shot on target. In the 42nd minute of the game, Dutch defender Kai Heerings’ block at the near post denied Bengaluru forwardSunil Chhetri from opening the scoreline.
The second half saw The Highlanders enjoy more of the ball possession from the very beginning. Two minutes into the half and captain Jose Leudo tried his luck from the distance but couldn’t rally his shot on goal. Leudo’s effort was followed by some chances created by both the wingers Nikhil and Redeem but both didn’t manage to find Gyan inside the box.
In the 52nd minute, NorthEast United had their best chance of the game. Martin Chaves made a defence scattering run before finding Asamoah Gyan inside the box whose left-footed shot rattled off the bar to deny the visitors their first goal of the season. NorthEast’s custodian Subhasish was brought into action when Nishu Kumar’s shot from a Bengaluru set-piece was parried away by the veteran keeper before Kai Heerings headed the ball away of danger. Both the sides created a few more half-chances in the remaining minutes but didn’t manage to find the back of the net and the game ended 0-0 at full-time.
After the match head coach Robert Jarni said, “It was a tough game as they are a very good side. Both the teams could have won the match. So for us, one point at a difficult stadium against a very strong team is a positive result and I am proud of the boys.”
NorthEast United will now face Odisha FC on 26th of October at the IGA Stadium, Sarusajai. NorthEast Line-Up: Subhasish Roy Choudhury; Reagan Singh, Kai Heerings, Mislav Komorksi, Rakesh Pradhan; Jose Leudo ©, Puitea (Milan Singh 73’), Martin Chaves; Nikhil Kadam(Ninthoiganba Meetei 83’), Asamoah Gyan (Maximiliano Barreiro 89’), Redeem Tlang.