In a match which came to life in the final 15 minutes, NorthEast United FC and Jamshedpur FC played out a 3-3 draw at the Indira Gandhi Athletic Stadium in Guwahati on Monday. Having been knocked out of the Hero Indian Super League (Hero ISL) 2019-20 heading into the encounter, both teams showed plenty of desire to win but had to settle for a point each eventually.

  • Federico Gallego gave NorthEast an early lead after scoring five minutes in but Jamshedpur’s David Grande made it 1-1 late in the first half.
  • Redeem Tlang made it 2-1 for NorthEast in the 77th minute.
  • After his penalty kick was saved, Noe Acosta scored from open play to equalize for Jamshedpur in the 82nd minute.
  • Memo Moura gave Jamshedpur the lead just three minutes later, but Jose Leudo levelled things up at 3-3 in the 88th minute.
  • In between the last two goals of the night, Farukh Choudhary was sent off after his second booking.

Having failed to score in their last five matches, it took NorthEast just five minutes to break the drought and the deadlock. Andrew Keogh made room for himself inside the Jamshedpur FC box, but the striker’s tame shot was blocked off by Jamshedpur goalkeeper Rafique Ali. Federico Gallego, however, was at hand to slot home from the rebound.

Jamshedpur’s David Grande had a sight at goal ten minutes later, but the Spaniard rushed his shot and sent it over. As the half progressed, both teams looked reasonably settled as chances of note became few and far between. Jamshedpur, however, found an equaliser with what was the last touch of the ball in the first half. Grande headed in an Amarjit Singh cross to make it 1-1 heading into the break.

Ten minutes after the restart, Keogh had a big chance to restore the Highlanders’ lead. The striker found himself free on goal, with Rafique way off his line. The Irishman tried to chip the opposition custodian but missed his mark by inches. Redeem Tlang tested Rafique with a low shot from distance in the 67th minute but the Jamshedpur goalkeeper got down quickly to make the save.

The home team looked the more likely to score as the match progressed, while Jamshedpur created very little to worry Subhasish Roy in the opposition goal. The trend reflected on the scoreboard in the 77th minute as Martin Chaves used his burst of pace and floated in a cross inside the Jamshedpur box. Youngster Sandip Mandi managed to clear the initial danger but his header didn’t have enough power on it to clear the danger zone. The ball fell to Redeem, who turned the ball in with an acrobatic effort to make it 2-1.

Jamshedpur, however, got a chance to hit right back as they were awarded a penalty seconds later as Wayne Vaz was deemed to have handled the ball in his own box. Noe Acosta stepped up to take the spot kick but Subhasish Roy guessed right and made the save. From the following corner, Acosta came close to scoring yet again, but his shot was cleared off the line in the last second. In the 82nd minute, though, the Spaniard redeemed himself as he beat Subhasish from outside the box.

The equaliser inspired a sustained period of Jamshedpur pressure and it paid off in the 85th minute. Memo Moura rifled in a free kick from just outside the box to make it 3-2 heading into the final five minutes. The story, however, was far from over.

In the 87th minute, Farukh Choudhary received the marching orders for his second yellow of the night and moments later, Jose Leudo fired in to bring the Highlanders right back in. The tide shifted yet again as the Highlanders went on the offensive. Despite a few chances, neither team could find a winner as the match ended 3-3.

Hero of the Match – Jose Leudo

Besides scoring the late crucial goal which helped rescue a point for his team, NorthEast’s midfield destroyer also put in a solid defensive shift, raking up 1 successful tackle, 3 clearances, 2 interceptions and 1 block. He was named the Hero of the Match.

AWARDS

Club Award – NorthEast United FC and Jamshedpur FC

Maruti Suzuki Limitless Player of the Match – Memo Moura

DHL Winning Pass of the Match – Federico Gallego

ISL Emerging Player of the Match – Redeem Tlang

Hero of the Match – Jose Leudo

Watch the match highlights here:

Related tags:

Match 79, NEUFC vs JFC - 2019Jamshedpur FCNorthEast United FC 2019-2020Match Report