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Bengaluru FC had to settle for a 2-2 draw against NorthEast United FC in the 21st match of the 2020-21 Indian Super League Season (ISL) at the Fatorda Stadium in Margao, Goa. In what was an entertaining game, the Highlanders managed to eke out a point through Luis Machado’s 78th-minute goal.
The match got off to a rapid start as NorthEast United FC scored in just the 3rd minute. It came off a Rochharzela shot, which was deflected off Luis Machado’s shoulder past a helpless Gurpreet Singh Sandhu.
The game quickly turned into an end-to-end one as Bengaluru FC looked to respond quickly. The designated home side equalized in the 12th minute as NorthEast United‘s defense let the ball bounce from a Rahul Bheke long throw-in. Thereafter, Juanan powered his shot into the back of the net, after striking goal-keeper Gurmeet Singh’s chest.
NorthEast United then began to trouble Bengaluru FC once again as Khassa Camara pressed with a lot of energy. The left winger Luis Machado also gave a lot of trouble to right-back Harmanjot Khabra. Machado almost curled the ball into the far post, but it just went a bit high. Machado then forced Gurpreet Singh Sandhu to come up with a save as Bengaluru FC couldn't afford to relax.
At the other end, Ashique Kuruniyan looked like a big threat after looking rusty initially. The full-back made a superb run to try and find the bottom right corner. But, Gurmeet Singh was upto the task as he did a fingertip save.
However, the best chance possibly fell on Khabra in the 25th minute. But the Punjabi defender miscued his shot from close range after Ashique made another superb run. There were also several fouls and yellow cards as the likes of Rahul Bheke, Rochharzela went into the book.
Ashique Kuruniyan could have taken a shot towards the end of the first half, after intercepting the ball from Khassa Camara. However, his decision to make a pass to Deshorn Brown proved futile as the Jamaican forward was found to be off-side.
Bengaluru FC could have then made it 2-1 from a corner-kick. But Khassa Camara was alert enough to make a clearance just as Sunil Chhetri made a run into the six-yard box.
In the second half, NorthEast United almost went into the lead, following a Kwesi Appiah header. But Gurpreet Singh dived to his right to come up with one of the saves of the season.
After the hour-mark, Bengaluru FC found their footing once again. After coming in as a half-time substitute, Kristian Opseth came very close to scoring his first-ever ISL goal. But he was denied by a brilliant Gurmeet Singh save. The missed chance didn’t hurt Bengaluru FC as Udanta Singh scored a goal after a long time. The Manipuri winger took a straight shot at Gurmeet and the young goalkeeper let the ball go through.
Just as Bengaluru FC looked to become more threatening, NorthEast United took advantage of the cooling break. Luis Machado capitalized on Juanan’s mistake to curl the ball past Gurpreet Singh Sandhu. The duo of Sunil Chhetri and Erik Paartalu had some decent chances in the dying minutes of the game too. However, they failed to score the much-needed winning goal.
ISL 2020-21, BFC vs NEUFC: Who was the Hero of the Match?
The Portuguese left winger, Luis Machado turned out to be the ‘Hero of the Match’ for NorthEast United. Having lost the ball often in the previous matches, Machado proved to be a constant menace for Harmanjot Khabra and the entire Bengaluru FC. He almost came up with a brilliant curling goal in the 16th minute, but the ball went just over the cross-bar.
While Machado did eventually get the first goal, he took the second chance on his own by forcing a mistake out of the usually reliable Juanan. He then struck the ball past an advancing Gurpreet Singh Sandhu to bring about an equaliser from nowhere.
