A late Lallianzuala Chhangte strike helped a ten-man Chennaiyin FC hold NorthEast United FC to a 2-2 draw in Match 90 of the Hero Indian Super League (Hero ISL) 2019-20 played at the Indira Gandhi Athletic Stadium in Guwahati on Tuesday. The result means the Highlanders are now winless in their last 14 Hero ISL matches.

  • Masih Saighani gave Chennaiyin the lead in the 17th minute.
  • Martin Chaves made it 1-1 from the penalty spot in the 41st minute after Tondonba Singh was sent off for bringing down Ninthoi inside the box.
  • Chaves made it 2-1 in the Highlanders’ favour in the 71st minute.
  • Lallianzuala Chhangte made it 2-2 in added time.

It was the home team which showed the urgency early on as they created a few half chances but couldn’t really work Karanjit Singh in the Chennaiyin goal. However, it was the visitors who scored the first goal of the match. After a long Tondonba Singh throw, the ball fell for Masih Saighani inside the NorthEast box. The 33-year-old slotted his shot past Highlanders custodian Soram Poirei to make it 1-0 in Chennaiyin’s favour in the 17th minute.

Around the half hour mark, Anirudh Thapa made space for himself in the box and took a crack at goal. Jose Leudo, however, put in a timely block to deny Chennaiyin the second goal of the match. With the half entering its final 15 minutes, Chennaiyin looked comfortable, dealing with NorthEast’s forward forays with ease whilst launching some dangerous counter-attacks of their own.

In the 41st minute, things changed as Leudo’s long pass set Ninthoi through on goal. Tondonba tried to catch up with the Highlanders speedster but ended up bringing the winger down inside the box, earning himself a red card. Martin Chaves converted the penalty with ease to level the score heading into the break.

Despite playing with a man less, Chennaiyin made things difficult for the Highlanders in the second half denying them too much space and time on the ball. Chances of note were few and far between. Just when it seemed it would take a moment of brilliance to break the stalemate, 21-year-old Chaves produced exactly that in the 71st minute, beating Karanjit with a volley on the turn from outside the box.

Chennaiyin threw men forward in search of the equaliser but couldn’t quite find a way through a disciplined Highlanders backline in regulation time. In added time, however, substitute Lallianzuala Chhangte cut in from the right and beat Poirei at the near post to make it 2-2 with what was almost the final move of the match.

Hero of the Match – Martin Chaves

The young Uruguayan was sensational on the night, coolly converting a penalty to bring NorthEast level at the brink of half time. The 21-year-old followed it up with a wonder strike to hand the Highlands the lead in the second half. He was named the Hero of the Match.

AWARDS

Club Award – NorthEast United FC and Chennaiyin FC

Maruti Suzuki Limitless Player of the Match – Masih Saighani

DHL Winning Pass of the Match – Nim Dorjee

ISL Emerging Player of the Match – Redeem Tlang

Hero of the Match – Martin Chaves

Watch the match highlights here:

Related tags:

Chennaiyin FCNorthEast United FC Match Report2019-2020Match 90, NorthEast United FC vs Chennaiyin FC - 2019