NorthEast United FC head coach Juan Pedro Benali shared his dissatisfaction with dropping points from a losing position, as the Highlanders shared spoils with Odisha FC in the Indian Super League (ISL) at the Kalinga Stadium in Bhubaneswar on Monday.

Alaaeddine Ajaraie continued his goalscoring prowess, scoring a brace against the Kalinga Warriors, helping his team take the lead twice in the game. Despite experiencing a tough outing in the first half, the Moroccan forward found himself on the scoresheet in the 67th minute of the game from a corner kick.

Benali’s men displayed a smart variation with a short corner kick, with Buanthanglun Samte delivering a pinpoint cross to unmarked Ajaraie, who made no mistake in heading in the opener. The NEUFC forward doubled his tally with another headed goal, this time from Nestor Albiach’s free-kick delivery.

However, Odisha FC found themselves back in the game not once but twice as Thoiba Singh and Isak Vanlalruatfela struck for the hosts.

With the 2-2 draw, NorthEast United FC are now unbeaten in each of their last three games against Odisha FC in the ISL (W2 D1), their longest such streak against the Kalinga Warriors in league history.

The Highlanders have now dropped a total of 16 points in the ISL 2024-25 season, the most by any team in the league. Benali voiced frustration in dropping points from the winning position once again but believed that his team deserved all three points from the game.

"Well, we're not happy, we're supposed to win the game. We take one point, a very difficult point, and we go home. And now, looking forward,” Benali said in the post-match press conference.

Benali shared similar thoughts in his post-match broadcast interview and stated that his team became complacent after Ajaraie’s second goal.

“We made some silly mistakes. We just stopped working on what we did all the game. We said it's finished and in the critical phase; we get the draw. One point is not easy to get here. Happy to leave them on the back, and we need to look forward to the next game," he said.

With two goals to his name, Ajaraie now has 23 goal contributions (18 goals & 5 assists) in the ongoing ISL season, the joint most by any player in a single season in league history alongside Ferran Corominas. The Moroccan recorded his fifth ISL brace, joining Corominas as the player with the most braces in a single season.

Heaping praise on Ajaraie’s impactful performance, Benali remarked,

“He's a great player. He knows how to position himself and the players; they start to know him very well, and they're looking for him all the time.”

NorthEast United FC generated numerous clear-cut chances throughout the game with Ajaraie, Albiach, Jithin MS, Macarton Louis Nickson being involved. Benali urged his players to be more precise in the final third and seize on the opportunities they create.

“Yeah, the fair result was three points for us, but well, they (Odisha FC) didn't create too many chances," he stated.

"We created more, but sometimes creating chances is not enough. We need to score and we need to defend our goal,” Benali concluded.