NorthEast United FC head coach Nelo Vingada was happy to be alive in the semis hunt following a 3-3 draw against defending champions Chennaiyin FC at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in Chennai on Saturday evening. The Highlanders appeared to be heading towards a defeat when Shouvik Ghosh rose high in injury time to help the visitors get away with one point against all odds. NorthEast now have 15 points from 12 games and can qualify for semis with good results in their remaining two matches. Speaking to the media after the match, Vingada said his team deserved the draw.

“I think it was a fantastic game for the supporters and fans who were here, getting to witness six goals, and if you tell me we were lucky to score in the last minute, then yes we were lucky but we fought to bring that luck for us and we created chances to score, and honestly I think we deserved the draw. It is the correct result and the result is very important for us as it lifts our morale. We will put in a strong effort in the next two games,” Vingada told reporters.

He continued: “And we remember that we lost against Goa towards the end and we were the better team. Today, yes we were not better than Chennaiyin but Chennaiyin were also not better than us and most of the game was very tough, and my players who came here played well, and it was a good game. With this result of course we are still alive and the next game will be very crucial… Today I believe was a hard game as Gustavo [Lazzaretti] got injured and then Subrata Paul also had to be substituted, and normally I don’t do this but today Fanai Lalrempuia played very well and I am sure he can be a very good talent for Indian football.”

NorthEast surprisingly omitted Katsumi Yusa from their starting line-up for Saturday’s match. Vingada explained his decision behind not starting with the Japanese playmaker. “Because Rowllin Borges could not play [on account of yellow card accumulation]. Borges has been an important part of our unit before the defence and we did not have any Indian player to replace him in that position. Gustavo was training well and was feeling good today, so I started with him and due to Borges’ suspension I had to remove one foreign player, so I decided to remove Yusa and give him a little rest as he is one of the key players for us. He could have started but I was thinking of depth and if we had gone for 4-4-2, then we could have had him in as he is very fast. When he came on, the score was 2-2 and I think he disturbed the organisation of Chennaiyin a bit,” the 63-year-old Portuguese said.

NorthEast now host Delhi Dynamos FC at the Indira Gandhi Athletic Stadium in Guwahati on Wednesday.