NorthEast United FC succumbed to a second successive loss at home in Hero Indian Super League (Hero ISL) 2019-20 after a 2-0 defeat to Bengaluru FC at the Indira Gandhi Athletic Stadium in Guwahati on Wednesday. The hosts went into the break with the score goalless but two second-half strikes from Bengaluru condemned the Highlanders to another defeat.

While speaking at the post-match press conference, NorthEast head coach Robert Jarni offered his assessment of the game and said, “We didn’t play the first half as we wanted to but still it wasn’t that bad. In the second half, we played much better and were more aggressive. But the penalty that Bengaluru received changed the match.”

When asked why Nim Dorjee was used at left-back, Jarni said, “He has been playing in that (left-back) position quite well during training and it was my decision to play him there because he’s been playing very well and has worked very hard.”

The Croatian coach then praised youngsters Lalengmawia and Ninthoi, tipping them for a bright future with India. “(Lalengmawia) has been working very hard in the last few sessions and he can be very good in the next few matches as well. He’s a young player and has a bright future, which is why he was in the squad. We hope he’s in our squad in our next few matches as well. As far as Ninthoi goes, he’s a very good and talented player. He has great potential for the future. Both these players can be very important for India in the future,” he said.

Jarni also had a positive update regarding their talisman Asamoah Gyan’s return from injury. “Gyan will be returning to training tomorrow. We now have 10 days before we play our next game and we hope to use this time to prepare well for our next match.”

Read the Match Report here.