'%20x='0'%20y='0'%20height='100%25'%20width='100%25'%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20xlink%3Ahref='data:image/jpg;base64,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'%3E%3C/image%3E%3C/svg%3E)
NorthEast United played their third home game of the season when they hosted Mumbai City FC in Guwahati on Wednesday. Both the teams came into this game on the back of defeats. NorthEast, however, were the team who needed the three points more than their rivals as they were languishing at the 9th spot on the points table.
Mumbai though were not a team to let go of the 3 points easily as they wanted to get back to their winning ways after their defeat to ATK.
Mumbai made the most of defensive errors by NEUFC as Balwant went on to score the brace that gave Mumbai the 2-0 win against NorthEast. On that note, let's take a look at the five talking points from the game.
NEUFC's defensive and goalkeeping errors a cause for major concern
NorthEast coach Carlos De Deus claimed that the Highlanders have the second-best defence in the league, a statement that even rival coach Alexandre Guimaraes echoed. However, NEUFC has been having more than a few problems in their defence and their keepers are also not helping their cause by committing some blunders.
Ravi Kumar, who was in goal on the night, instead of the suspended Rehenesh, charged out of the box, only to leave Balwant an open goal to put the ball into.
Even though statistically NorthEast had one of the tightest defences in the league, the sudden lapse in concentration from the back four, and recurring blunders from their goalkeeper is something which has been causing the team to leak in goals at crucial intervals of the game.
NEUFC’s strikers keep disappointing
Instead of troubling the opposition defence, the NorthEast forwards seemed to be a menace to their own team on the night, as they kept missing one chance after another. It started from the 3rd Minute when Marcinho hit the post, and from then on, it was the same story -- NEUFC creating chances and repeatedly missing them throughout the span of 90 minutes.
The number of chances that NEUFC have missed this season, had one of their strikers even converted 40% of those chances then we could have seen a different player in the race for the golden boot
The Balwant Singh show
One of the most underrated strikers of Indian football, Balwant has been Mumbai’s go-to man this season as he has already netted four goals for the Islanders. Balwant was the most dangerous players for Mumbai today as he, hassled and harried the NEUFC defenders and looked dangerous whenever he had the ball at his feet. He has also has evolved from being a supporting striker to a more central role.
Be it for Mohun Bagan, Chennaiyin or for the national team, Balwant has always played with a strike partner and has mostly been the supporting striker. However, for Mumbai City FC this season, the lad from Punjab has been their main man up front, and to say that he is thriving in his new role would be a gross understatement.
Gerson Vieira and the Mumbai midfield
A lot has already been said and written about the role Emana, Everton, and Thiago Santos' play for Mumbai in the midfield. Today again Emana and Thiago Santos showed why they are two of the most highly rated midfielders in the ISL. Emana had two assists to his name, while Thiago was the main player to keep the NEUFC midfielders busy with his clear runs and brilliant hold up of play. The quality of through balls played from the midfield was world class.
The player who impressed the most, though, was Gerson Vieira. He played in an unusual role of a defensive midfielder compared to his usual role of a centre back. Gerson played in that position as Shenaj was suspended for the game, but he didn’t look inch out of position. He was one of the main reasons why NorthEast failed to create more clear-cut openings in this match.
NEUFC losing its once-famed fan support?
NorthEast United FC, Guwahati and ISL were accustomed to seeing a jam-packed stadium filled to the rafters for ISL games at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium. However, we have seen a vast decline in the number of spectators that have come to witness NEUFC home games since the start of the season.
Last season or in the seasons before that it was common to witness a crowd of above 26,000 during matchdays. This year though, we have still not been able to witness an attendance above 21,000 which was seen in the first game. The attendance for this match was a miserly was 10,353, a figure which is very poor given the fans and stadium numbers that NorthEast United has boasted of from the previous season.
