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NorthEast United FC pulled no punches when they thrashed their ISL rivals Kerala Blasters FC 4-1 in their final Group B encounter in the Kalinga Super Cup at the Kalinga Stadium in Bhubaneswar on Saturday.
Although this game was hyped up owing to the participation of two ISL teams, it was a virtual dead rubber since neither had any chance of qualifying for the semifinals.
Both Kerala Blasters and NorthEast United FC were knocked out of the competition by Jamshedpur FC, who qualified from this group and will now take on East Bengal in the semifinal.
The Highlanders' head coach Juan Pedro Benali, who spoke exclusively to Sportskeeda after the game, maintained that the win was very important for his team.
"What this win does is, it gives us ten-twelve days of peace before we are back in ISL action again. We have to go back home, take some time off and then regroup and start training. This win is an excellent pointer for us and gives us a lot of momentum going into the second phase of the ISL. This is what I am so happy about," said Benali.
"Today's was another fine performance from the boys" - Juan Pedro Benali
NorthEast United got on the scoresheet in just the second minute of the game, with Parthib Gogoi finding the back of the net first.
Kerala Blasters seemed to be in a state of shock and could hardly respond after that. Although no other goal was scored in the first half, the second half went entirely the Highlanders' way.
Sure, Dimitrios Diamantakos pulled one back for the Tuskers in the 70th minute, but it could not quite tilt the game in their favour.
Benali, for his part, was happy with the intent that the youngsters showed.
"I am happy with the way the boys performed. I think they have shown it in the matches played in this competition that they can hold their own against the best in the business. Today's was another fine performance from them. I am happy that we could get this win and allow the youngsters an opportunity to showcase their potential," said Benali.
