Fans at the Indira Gandhi Athletic Stadium sure did have a blast on Friday as their favourite team NorthEast United FC clinched its second home win of Hero Indian Super League Season 2015. A goal by Nicolas Velez saw the Highlanders defeat defending champions Atlético de Kolkata 1-0 in front of a raucous crowd of 24,689.

Both sides were seen going up against each other with more or less the same amount of vigour. Throughout the first half, Englishman Iain Hume was seen quite often in the NorthEast United FC box trying to put one past opponent goalkeeper Rehenesh TP.

While possession read 53%-47% in the first half in NorthEast United FC’S favour, there was no denying that they struggled to make the right passes. Both sides went into the break goalless.

A few noteworthy moments were there though. For Kolkata, Jaime Gavilan came close to netting one in from a Borja Fernandez cross but his torpedo shot went wide in the 17th minute. In the 29th minute, Reagan Singh brought out the best in Kolkata goalkeeper Amrinder Singh. A deflected ball from Amrinder reached Reagan outside the box who tried to shoot it back in. However, Amrinder, this time, made a fantastic save lunging to his left and denied the hosts another chance.

The second half began quite on the similar note as the first. A series of missed chances followed, with ATK’s Ofentse Nato and Javi Lara and NorthEast United FC’s Diomansy Kamara coming close to doing the damage.

The home crowd erupted in the 77th minute when Velez, after making a run on the left flank, entered in the Kolkata box. Sanju Pradhan, in charge of the ball, managed to take a jab but Velez made no mistake by scoring off the deflected ball. This was the Argentinian’s third strike of the season.

The final scoreline read 1-0 for the Highlanders, with a few more chances coming ATK’s way. NorthEast United now travel to Delhi Dynamos FC on the back of two successive home wins, while ATK will travel to Mumbai City FC who beat Delhi in their last match.

Match awards:

Club Award: NorthEast United FC

Swift Moment of the Match: Bruno Arias (NorthEast United FC)

Amul Fittest Player of the Match: Javi Lara (Atlético de Kolkata)

ISL Emerging Player of the Match: Amrinder Singh (Atlético de Kolkata)

Hero of the Match: Nicolas Velez (NorthEast United FC)