#2 Haokip's promise
The young Manipuri had a stunning first half, with his pace troubling Arnab Mondal and Tiri to no end. He timed his runs beautifully to beat the offside trap, and he was getting fed well by Defederico and Leo Costa.
Once, he lost his footing while jumping over a slide from Debjit, while a more blatant penalty was denied when Haokip pounced on an error from Debjit only for the 'keeper's trailing leg to catch him and bring him down.
He looked to have run out of steam in the second half.
This was a different Haokip to the one that was seen at NorthEast over the past two seasons. He seemed more fearless and ready to make the tough calls instead of choosing the easy way out. He had a very good effort that hit the post before Defederico found the net for Mumbai.
However, he was still a little bit timid, a little shy to ask the officials the tough question. For both the tackles by Debjit, apart from a stare in the general direction of the referee, he didn’t react.
A more experienced player might have tried to persuade and coax the referee into giving a decision in his favour.
