NorthEast United FC beat Mumbai City FC 2-0 at the D.Y. Patil Stadium, Navi Mumbai in their first away win of the Hero Indian Super League (ISL). The win takes them to second position in the standings table with seven points in the bag. Atlético de Kolkata continue to be at the top with 10 points.

For the visitors, Kondwani Mtonga’s finish in the 57^th minute gave NorthEast United the lead and Felipe de Castro cemented their victory with a strike in stoppage time.

The opening phase of the match saw both teams fighting for possession, but Mumbai began to control possession and take the attack to the NorthEast. Their best chance came in the 13^th minute as Nadong Bhutia took a crossfield ball under control near the 6-yard area before making a run into the box and cutting it back. The ball rolled between Subhash Singh and André Moritz and was cleared by a NEUFC defender.

NorthEast United, who were still struggling to string together their first attack, got their best chance in the 17^th minute as Koke played in Felipe de Castro who cut the ball back onto his left foot and shot just wide of the far post.

Mumbai dominated for the remainder of the first half but could not find a way through the stubborn NorthEast defence. Apart from a couple of shots off target, the first half didn’t produce any clear-cut opportunities for either sides.

The second half began with the entry of Mumbai City’s marquee player Freddie Ljungberg who replaced Moritz. The first chance, though, fell to the visiting team, as Durga Boro shot just over the bar from close to 30 yards out.

The breakthrough for the Highlanders came twelve minutes into the half as Koke dinked the ball into the 6-yard area to Mtonga, who held off Tiago Ribeiro and beat Subrata Paul to the ball before lifting it over the keeper and into the net.

The hosts made their final change in the 71^st minute and Ljungberg went down with a thigh injury moments later reducing the home side to 10 men. Things went from bad to worse for the Mumbai team as Pavel Čmovš got sent off for a rather unnecessary and rash challenge on James Keene. The red card left Mumbai with only nine players on the pitch.

NEUFC took advantage of the two-man deficit in the opposition’s side as Keene did well to get the ball through the feet of Deepak Mandal cutting it back to Felipe who dispatched the ball into the top corner with a composed finish in the 92^nd minute.

Mumbai City will seek to rediscover their goal-scoring prowess on October 28 as they take on Chennaiyin FC, a team that is yet to drop points in the ISL. The winners today, NorthEast United FC, will travel to the capital as they look for their second away win when they take on Delhi Dynamos FC on October 29.