ISL 2018-19, Jamshedpur FC 0-0 NorthEast United FC: 5 Hits and Flops

In a top of the table battle, NorthEast United FC traveled to Jamshedpur in hopes of cementing their place at the top of the ISL table.Jamshedpur FC, who are in the fourth position, also looked to levitate them in the league standings.Both the teams were coming on the back of thumping wins in their last matches.NorthEast United FC last played away in a dominating 2-0 win against an FC Pune City FC and Jamshedpur FC secured a 3-1 win against a traveling Chennaiyin FC side.NorthEast United FC has seen a complete turnaround of their fortunes from the previous seasons under a new manager in Eelco Schattorie.Their brilliant performance shall also be credited highly to likes of players like Ogebeche and Fedrico Gallego who are currently at the top the most goals and most assists standings respectively.NorthEast United FC has also enjoyed a good defensive performance in the league this season thanks to their goalkeeper Pawan Kumar and their foreigner defenders Mislav Komorski and Jose Leudo who have conceded only 8 goals in the season, the second-best performance in the league thus far.But, NorthEast United FC knew they will be facing a tough side in Jamshedpur FC who are also one of the better performing teams of the league this season.Under Coach Caeser Ferrando JFC looked a formidable line-up and had the second best goal scoring record with 18 goals in the season so far, after FC Goa.Jamshedpur FC is also a side who are more known to play defensively and have only conceded 6 goals in the league so far. Players like Tiri, Carlos Calvo, Margado and Memo have been really strong for the Men of Steel this season.The game started with both the teams playing with a defensive mindset and lacking an attacking flair.Even though both the sides had moments of shots at the goal the game really didn’t live up to the standards that one would have expected from two top sides in the competition.After the first thirty minutes, it looked very eminent that both sides are just looking to pass the full ninety and are happy to salvage a point from the match.Even though it looked like a dull affair at 0-0 at the full time both the teams will be more than happy with the result especially at a stage in the competition when losing games are costlier than winning a game.Even with a nil-nil scoreline, some players stood out while some faltered to perform. Here are the 5 hits and flops from the game.#5 Hit: Provat LakraLakra was clinical with his interceptions, man-marking and crucial tackles both inside and outside of the box (Image Courtesy: ISL)Before taking the field, NorthEast United FC had an entire day of travel to Jamshedpur and coach Schattorie rotated a few players to keep the squad fresh for the game.The rotation saw Provat Lakra make his debut for NorthEast United FC and he did a great job. The 21-year-old defender, who joined the Highlanders from Gokulam Kerala FC, showed real good signs of being an exciting right-back prospect for India.Having just played four matches before this in the Indian Super League, Provat was pivotal in the defence, especially in keeping the dangerous Micheal Soosairaj at bay for the entire duration of the game.Lakra was clinical with his interceptions, man-marking and crucial tackles both inside and outside of the box. He also had moments where he would contribute to the attack with his accurate passes and ball distribution.It will be interesting to see if coach Eelco Schattorie will give a start to the youngster in the next match

ISL 2018-19, Jamshedpur FC 0-0 NorthEast United FC: 5 Hits and Flops

#2 Hit: Robin Gurung