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Avram Grant and Elco Schatorrie travelled with NorthEast United FC to Bengaluru for their first away game after taking charge of the team. Bengaluru FC resumed their ISL campaign after featuring in the AFC Cup playoff game against Transport United FC of Bhutan.
The game was more important for NorthEast as a defeat on Friday would have meant that their hopes of making the semifinals would be all but over. Bengaluru, on the other hand, wanted the three points to reach the top of the table and get back to wining ways after drawing against Transport United.
The Blues took the early lead in the 14th minute when Juanan headed in an Edu Garcia free kick. A Subhasish Bose handball resulted in a penalty, which Marcinho put away brilliantly to level the scores before half time.
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The second half started on a positive note and Bengaluru FC went ahead just within 5 minutes when Sunil Chhetri punished NEUFC for a defensive error.
The game ended 2-1 in favour of BFC, as the Blues marched to the top of the table yet again. On that note, we take a look at how someof the players performed in the match.
Bengaluru FC
Gurpreet Singh Sandhu (7/10): Gurpreet didn’t have much to do during the game, but made one brilliant save from a Seiminlen Doungel shot. He also made some good outings during set pieces and his collection was very good.
Harmanjot Singh Khabra (6.5/10): Khabra had a brilliant game at right back as he put in some very good crosses. He also provided the all-important assist for Sunil Chhetri's goal. He was also the sole reason why Halicharan had to defend for long parts of the game.
Juanan (8/10): Juanan scored a brilliant goal to open the scoring, when he headed in an Edu Garcia free kick, leapfrogging the whole NEUFC defence. He was solid defensively too as he kept a close vigil on Danilo.
John Johnson (7.5/10): Johnson kept the NEUFC forwards at bay and put in some crucial last ditch tackles to stop NEUFC from scoring.
Subhasish Bose (6/10): Bose was guilty of awarding NEUFC a penalty when he went arms stretched into a tackle to clear the ball inside the 18-yard box, only to see the ball strike his hand. Other then that, Bose had a couple of problems in keeping the 'Lighting Len' in check.
Lenny Rodrigues (6.5/10): Lenny won a lot of second balls in midfield and broke down a lot of NEUFC attacks, but his passing and distribution wasn’t upto the standards.
Erik Paartalu (7.5/10): Eric was a big presence during set pieces and he controlled the game in the middle of the park. He won a lot of the aerial duels but that final ball was left wanting.
Edu Garcia (7.5/10): Edu Garcia was superb in the midfield. His set pieces were spot on and he played some lovely forward passes. His movement and passes kept the NEUFC defenders on their heels. Edu, though, did miss the chance of the game when his shot went agonisingly wide with just the keeper in front of him.
Udanta Singh (6/10): Udanta had a quiet game as most of the action for BFC seemed to happen from the other flank or through the centre. However, he did track back well and help out his defenders.
Sunil Chhetri (8/10): He was brilliant again, as he scored an incredible goal from a tight angle, to give BFC the lead. He also tracked back very well and helped out his defenders.
Miku (6.5/10): Miku didn’t score on the night, but was a handful for the NEUFC defenders, as the likes of Sambinha had a difficult time keeping his runs in check.
Northeast United FC
Rehenesh (5.5/10): Rehenesh didn’t have much to do during the game, but wasn’t very impressive when called upon. The second goal shouldn’t have gone in, that too from a near zero angle, and had Rehenesh done a bit better, he may have helped NEUFC come back from Bengaluru with a point.
Nirmal Chettri (6.5/10): Nirmal had an average game, as he worked very hard in defence but the his namesake Sunil Chhetri got the better of him on a couple of occasions. Nirmal did venture forward often, but his crosses were poor. His tackling was also rash and was shown the yellow card which only means he misses the next game.
Jose Goncalves (6/10): Goncalves didn’t have the best of games on the night. He tried his best and did win some crucial balls but overall he looked a bit shaky, and he could have played better.
Sambinha (6.5/10): Sambinha was probably the best defender for NEUFC, as he bailed his team out on numerous occasions and made some crucial tackles to stop the likes of Miku and Sunil from scoring.
Reagan Singh (6/10): Reagan did a good job to keep the mercurial Udanta in check, but had problems stopping Khabra. He was also left wanting in attack as he seldom moved forward which, left the NEUFC wingers alone down the flanks waiting for support.
Martin Diaz (5.5/10): Diaz won a lot of second balls in midfield and his anticipation was also good. However, his passes were poor to say the least. He did try a couple of attempts at goal but all those were just feeble attempts. His mispasses cost the team dearly.
Rowllin Borges (6.5/10): Rowlin tried his best to control the game from the midfield but didn’t have much success in the middle of the park. He did try to go down the flanks and ventured forward also but his final ball was left wanting.
Seiminlen Doungel (7.5/10): Doungel was the best NEUFC player on the pitch. He won them the all-important penalty and was the menace down the flanks. He dropped deep to help out his defenders and then switched to attack in blink the of an eye. He was the player who troubled the BFC defenders the most
Marcinho (7.5/10): Scored a brilliant penalty and had a couple of half chances at goal. Overall, he had an average game, a couple of times there was a lack of communication between him and his teammates, which broke up play.
Halicharan Narzary (6.5/10): Halicharan worked really hard but wasn’t very effective. He had a couple of crossing chances but only one of them were noteworthy. He did work hard defensively but it was his forward movement which was a cause for concern.
Danilo (6/10): Danilo had very little to do today, as he was kept under constant vigil by Juanan and John Johnson. He didn’t have the ball at his feet as often as he would have liked and the times when he did have it, he couldn’t do much with it.
