NorthEast United FC registered a 3-2 win against FC Pune City in their last league match of the 2015 Hero Indian Super League to keep their semi-final hopes alive at the Indira Gandhi Stadium in Guwahati on Wednesday evening.In front of 27,108 spectators, Nico Velez, Diomansy Kamara and Andre Bikey scored to dash Pune’s semi-final hopes as James Bailey and Adrian Mutu’s goals for the Stallions went in vain. NorthEast now will have to wait for the result from the FC Pune City-Chennaiyin FC game on December 5 to know whether or not they qualify for the semis.The match began on an interesting note. Both teams, with victory on their minds, stepped into the game with attacking intentions. However, it was NorthEast that scored first, through Velez in the fourth minute of the game. A nice pass by Victor Mendy reached Velez in time and the latter did not make any mistake driving it home. This was also the 150th goal of the second season.FC Pune City made a nice move in the sixth minute through their marquee signing Mutu. The Romanian powerhouse fearlessly shot on goal but his attempt was safely put out of bounds by NorthEast goalkeeper Rehenesh TP.Two minutes later James Bailey managed to do what Mutu couldn’t. After collecting a Didier Zokora pass outside the box, Bailey took time and curved it past Rehenesh to bring parity.However, Pune’s joy was short-lived. In the 18th minute, Velez turned playmaker and set up a beautiful chance for skipper Kamara inside the Pune box and the former Senegal striker successfully directed towards the back of the net.Coach Cesar Farias’ grin grew wider in the 43rd minute as Bruno Arias stepped up to take a free-kick. His shot soared towards the Pune goal and Bikey leapt high to head in his first goal of the season as the Highlanders went into the break leading 3-1.The second half was relatively a dull affair until the 86th minute. Mutu struck gold in typical fashion as he successfully converted a free-kick to score his fourth goal of the season. However, his effort came a bit late in the day and the match ended 3-2 in favour of the home team.MATCH AWARDSClub Award – NorthEast United FCSwift Moment of the Match Award – James Bailey [FC Pune City] (Watch here)Amul Fittest Player of the Match Award – Andre Bikey [NorthEast United FC] (Watch here)DHL Winning Pass [NorthEast United FC] – Diomansy Kamara (Watch here)ISL Emerging Player of the Match Award – Siam Hanghal [NorthEast United FC]Hero of the Match Award – Nico Velez [NorthEast United FC] (Watch here)
