NorthEast United FC bowed out of Hero Indian Super League 2016 following a 1-0 defeat by Kerala Blasters FC at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in Kochi on Sunday evening. The Highlanders went into the match needing a win to qualify for the semis but the defeat meant they finished in fifth position in the standings with 18 points from 14 games. The Highlanders missed the services of star forward Nicolas Velez, who couldn’t feature into the match on fitness grounds. The Argentine, who has scored eight goals for NorthEast over the course of Hero ISL 2015 and Hero ISL 2016, was left gutted following the defeat and shared his grief with fans on his Facebook page. Read the message below.For the fans who ask why I did not play today, I tried until the last moment. I went out to the field to warm up with my team-mates but I still felt pain and that's why I could not be available. I just have to thank all my team-mates who gave their everything till the end, the coaching staff and all the staff members. I take the best memory of each one of you and hopefully we will meet again someday. To the fans, who were always, in good and bad times, supporting and believing in us, I just say sorry and those who didn’t, I also thank them because they have made us stronger. We arrived like this and we go like this, as a team... Thank you NorthEast United FC. You will be a part of my life forever.
