NorthEast United FC head coach Juan Pedro Benali commended his players' second-half performances as they staged an epic comeback against Hyderabad FC at the GMC Balayogi Athletic Stadium in Hyderabad in the final fixture of Matchweek 13 in the Indian Super League (ISL).

The hosts took a 2-0 lead within the opening 12 minutes, courtesy of Edmilson Correia’s sublime brace. However, the Highlanders pulled one goal back in the first half and delivered a dominant performance in the second half, putting five past Hyderabad FC to complete a commanding turnaround.

Guillermo Fernández and Alaeddine Ajaraie were among the goals, playing pivotal roles in NorthEast United FC’s roaring comeback. Ajaraie, who was awarded the ‘Player of the Month’ accolade for November prior to the game, has now become the joint-highest goalscorer for NorthEast United FC in league history with 12 goals.

This victory marks NorthEast United FC’s first win over Hyderabad FC since 2019. In fact, their first-ever victory against the Yellow and Black came in the inaugural ISL game between the two sides on November 6, 2019.

Benali acknowledged the challenges posed by the Yellow and Black on their home turf and shared that they were fully aware of such difficult situations.

“We knew that it would not be easy to play against Hyderabad FC, because the history says that we didn't win against Hyderabad FC since 2019,” he said in the post-match press conference.

FULL-TIME! HFC 2-5 NEUFC!
A 5-star performance in Hyderabad! 🌟#StrongerAsOne #8States1United #HFCNEU pic.twitter.com/ajUAhoVIcc

— NorthEast United FC (@NEUtdFC) December 23, 2024

The NorthEast United FC head coach felt that his team couldn’t execute their game plan in the first half, leading to early setbacks. However, Benali praised his players’ collective spirit, determination, and fighting character, which helped them get back into the game and secure three crucial points from the away fixture.

“It was tough a little bit. We made two mistakes in the beginning, but the players reacted, and we went back to the game,” Benali shared.

While quizzed on his dressing room message during the halftime break, Benali answered,

“Be NorthEast United FC because, in the first half, we were not NorthEast United FC. We just walk; we just leave Hyderabad FC to do whatever they want.”

“It's like saying the two goals in the first ten minutes were like, Hey, what's going on? We started doubting, and in the dressing room, we said, Hey, just be ourselves, just be the Wolves; we know who we are. Just fight, just fight, just go for the ball, just play, do what we train, and it happened in the second half. Three points,” he explained.

With this resounding victory, NorthEast United FC climbed to the sixth spot in the league standings with 18 points from 12 games. However, the Spaniard didn’t want to focus on playoff qualification midway through the season; instead, he preferred to concentrate on accumulating as many points as possible.

“It's not important to be in the top 6 at this moment,” the head coach remarked.

“I wanted to be in the top 6 in the last game of the season. Now it's important to gain points, to get as many points as possible,” Benali signed off.