NorthEast United ended a six-game winless run with a 1-0 victory over FC Pune City on Tuesday. Both the teams had an average game, however, an 81st-minute free-kick from Christian Romaric won the game for NorthEast.
The Nelo Vingada-managed side climbed up one place on the points table after the win. We are almost at the end of the league stage and the points table is still very close.
Also read: ISL 2016: NorthEast United 1-0 FC Pune City - 5 talking points
Here are the player ratings for the game.
NorthEast United
Subrata Pal - 8/10
The Indian goalkeeper was very good for NorthEast against Pune. Pal made some good saves, out of which his save off Pune player Pitu's volley was the best. The former East Bengal player was also very good in aerial situations. He did well to punch away and claim aerial balls that came into his box.
Shouvik Ghosh - 5/10
The NorthEast full-back was silent throughout the game. The only involvement he had was a poor ball that he swung in from the left wing.
Mailson - 6/10
The Brazilian centre-back also had a quiet game. Even though the NorthEast defence was solid, there was not any notable contribution from the 28-year-old. The defender's key moment in the game was when he kicked Anibal Zurdo in the stomach unintentionally after clearing away the ball.
Salam Singh - 6/10
The 20-year-old player made his first appearance of the season on Tuesday. Salam made a couple of very good tackles, but also made some poor passes. He had a decent debut game.
Rowllin Borges - 5/10
Yet another player with a very silent game. The 24-year old was booked for tugging Pune's Lenny Rodrigues back. Other than that, he was mostly anonymous. He also gave away a free-kick after fouling Anibal Zurdo early on in the game.
Didier Zokora - 5/10
The NorthEast player had an average match, but atleast he was more involved in the game than many of his teammates. Zokora made one good tackle and some good short passes. A volley that he struck at the beginning of the second half was blocked by Eduardo Ferreira. The 35-year-old was also shown a yellow card for a foul on Gustavo Oberman.
Christian Romaric - 7/10
Romaric's first involvement in the game was getting booked for a foul on Arata Izumi. The player had a heated argument with Pune manager Antonio Habas after that foul. The 33-year-old made some good passes and was very involved in his team's attacking moves. Romaric scored the only goal of the match through a beautiful curling free-kick, giving the Pune goalkeeper no chance.
Yusa Katsumi - 7/10
The Japanese player was a real threat for the opponent defenders. Katsumi got the ball back, kept it well, made some good passes, made interceptions and had a shot on target. His worst moment of the match was a poor corner that failed to clear any of the defenders.
Seityasen Singh - 4/10
Seityasen is another player who didn't do anything in the game. The midfielder was replaced by Holicharan Narzary at the 70-minute mark. A 4/10 is a very generous rating for such an anonymous performance.
Nicolás Vélez - 7/10
Vélez had a good game against Pune. The player won the free-kick from which Romaric scored the winner. He gave Pune full-back Narayan Das a nightmare. His passes and dribbling were up to the mark, however, the forward too had bad moments in the game. The 26-year-old was subbed off in the 89th minute of the game and was replaced by Robert Cullen.
Emiliano Alfaro - 5/10
The ISL top scorer didn't have a good game. The striker troubled the opponents a few times, but other than that he was mostly anonymous. Alfaro was replaced by centre-back Wellington in the dying minutes of the game. Much more was expected from the forward.
Substitutes
Holicharan Narzary - 5/10
The 22-year-old came on as a 70th-minute substitute in place of Seityasen. The Indian player couldn't make much impact on the game. He kept his passes simple and didn't take any risks. Narzary produced a good cross, which Alfaro couldn't take advantage of.
Robert Cullen - N/A
The Japanese forward didn't have time to make an impact.
Wellington - N/A
The defender hardly had one minute on the pitch.
FC Pune City
Edel Bete - 7/10
The former Chennaiyin FC goalkeeper was good for Pune. Edel did very well to claim and punch away the crosses that came into his area. The 30-year old only had two easy shots to save in the game. He couldn't have done anything about the goal.
Dharmaraj Ravanan - 6/10
The Indian defender had a good game on Tuesday. Even though the player gave away the ball cheaply a few times, Ravanan made some good tackles, interceptions and even a couple of good crosses. He made a top class tackle on Velez on the left wing.
Eduardo Ferreira - 4.5/10
The 33-year-old made a few interceptions and aerial clearances, other than that he had a bad game. Eduardo conceded a free-kick in a dangerous area in the first half and also conceded the free-kick from which NorthEast scored. The centre-back was shown the yellow card for handling the ball, which resulted in the free-kick.
Gouramangi Singh - 5/10
The Indian defender started the game well, but was poor later on. Gouramangi made some good tackles and also made a key interception just in front of his post. However, the 30-year-old could have conceded a penalty for a foul on Alfaro at the end of the first half. The player made another risky tackle in the box on the same player in the second half.
Narayan Das - 5/10
The Pune full-back had a very bad time against Velez and almost made a costly error in his own box. Das was good offensively for his team. At times, he was able to deal with Velez too.
Mohamed Sissoko - 4/10
The former Liverpool man made several clean short passes, other than that he didn't offer much to his team. Sissoko was yellow carded for throwing Velez to the ground at the end of first half. The player should have been sent-off for the offence. He didn't do much in the second half.
Lenny Rodrigues - 6/10
The Indian midfielder made an important clearance after his teammate Narayan Das made an error inside the box. The player also made some interceptions in the midfield. One of the best moments of the match was Lenny hitting the bar from long range.
Jonatan Lucca - 3/10
The worst player of the night. Poor passes, poor set-pieces, poor shots. Lucca didn't even have one good moment in the game. The midfielder was also booked for a foul on Romaric. The 22-year-old was replaced by Pitu in the 75th minute of the game.
Arata Izumi - 4/10
Izumi just can't get rid of his poor form. The midfielder was silent on the night and had a very poor touch. The 34-year-old was shown the yellow card for a foul on the goalscorer of the night Romaric.
Momar Ndoye - N/A
The pacy forward was forced to get substituted in the 28th minute of the game due to an injury. Ndoye's loss was a huge one for the Stallions.
Anibal Zurdo - 5/10
The Pune striker was nowhere near his best on Tuesday. He gave away the ball cheaply at times and was not sharp enough. However, Anibal was able to cause trouble to the opponents. The 33-year-old was furious after he was replaced by Dramane Traore in the 86th minute of the game.
Substitutes
Gustavo Oberman - 5/10
The Argentine came on as a substitute for an injured Ndoye. His most notable contribution of the night was a shot on target, which was saved by Pal. Two crosses he made were very inaccurate.
Pitu - 6/10
The Spaniard replaced a very poor Lucca in the 75th minute of the game and did much more than him in just twenty minutes. The midfielder had two shots on target, of which one forced Subrata Pal to make a very good save.
Dramane Traore - N/A
The forward replaced Anibal in the 86th minute of the game. Traore couldn't help his team equalise.
