Guwahati: Northeast United FC came back from a goal down in a thrilling 1-1 draw with FC Goa in their Indian Super League (ISL 2024-25) clash at the Indira Gandhi Athletic Stadium here Tuesday.
Jithin MS scored a sublime goal in the 76th minute to cancel out Mohammad Yasir’s 65th-minute strike as Highlanders retained their fifth position in the ISL table with 24 points from 16 games. Juan Pedro Benali’s men are now unbeaten in their last five matches.
Northeast United FC fell behind in the 65th minute when Yasir found the back of the net after a ball fell his way, with a hint of a foul on Mohammed Ali Bemammer in the build-up to the goal.
However, going a goal down only fired up the Highlanders. They pushed on with more intensity as Alaaeddine Ajaraie, Jithin, Nestor Albiach and Thoi Singh started finding more gaps in the FC Goa backline.
Redeem Tlang had another outstanding game at right back with a blend of timely interventions and bombarding runs forward. In the 76th minute, he won the possession and put in a sublime line-breaking pass into the path of Ajaraie. The Moroccan forward then spun his man around and put in a defence-splitting pass into the path of Jithin, who took a touch before slotting the ball past Hrithik Tiwari.
Ajaraie, who registered an assist for Jithin’s goal, became the first player this season to have 20 goal contributions with 15 goals and five assists against his name.
Earlier, in a tactical game, both sides started the game cautiously. The first chance fell to Ajaraie’s way in the 15th minute. A miscued clearance from Goa fell to Jithin, who found Ajaraie inside the box. The Moroccan hit the first-time volley that grazed the crossbar. Three minutes later, Ajaraie stung the palms of FC Goa custodian Hrithik Tiwari with a shot from outside the box.
Buanthanglun Samte, who has created the most chances for a defender, was bombing down the left flank and floated a teasing cross for Guillermo Fernandez. Guillermo spun his man and had a shot at goal, which went just wide of the near post. The teams went into half-time with the scores level at 0-0. NorthEast United FC next face Kerala Blasters away on January 18.
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