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FC Pune City played to Northeast United FC in a crucial game for both the teams. The Stallions and The Highlanders both came into the game on the back of wins. Pune looked to be s different team under Praduym Reddy while Northeast United FC has been a completely different side this season under Eelco Schattorie.
The last few weeks before the AFC Asian Cup break is very crucial for the teams due to the crunched schedule. The teams would also like to make use of momentum that they gained to pick up as many points as possible before the break.
Pune started the game with a very high pressing game, while Northeast United decided to play their usual short passing game. Both the teams had their fair share of chances in the first half, but it was Northeast United who took the lead through Bartholomew Ogbeche from a Gallego corner. The scoreboard read 1-0 in favour of Northeast United FC during the halftime break.
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The second half began on the same note as the first half, and Pune pressed hard for the equaliser, but Northeast was resilient at the back and defending well. Juan Cruz Mascia doubled the lead for the Highlanders in stoppage time through a penalty to give Northeast United FC a 2-0 victory over FC Pune City.
On that note let us take a look at the five talking points from the game
#5 NEUFC lucky, Pune unlucky?
I generally don't bring in luck into the game of football, but there is always an element of luck at play when a game is played. The element of luck generally in control of things that are not in the player's hands and affects the course of the game. The thing that touched the game today was the referee decision regarding two penalty shouts. One denied, One given...
Pune was unlucky to see their shout for a penalty being denied by the referee in the first half. The incident saw the ball strike Gurwinder Singh outstretched hand during a clearance NEUFC defence made from an FC Pune City corner. The replays clearly showed that the ball hit the Punjabi Centre backs outstretched arm, but for some reason, the referee decided not to give the penalty.
In the dying minutes of the second half when Pune was attacking and was in search for an equalising goal NEUFC got the ball and moved forward, Juan Cruz Mascia cut in from the right and entered the box and had minimum contact with Sahil Panwar but the Referee decided to award the penalty to Northeast United FC. The penalty sealed the victory for NEUFC.
While I don't mean to condemn the referee for his decision to award NEUFC the penalty, I feel Pune should have had a penalty awarded in the first half. If that was given in the first half, then the dynamics of the game could have changed a lot.
#4 Poor finishing hurt Pune
Pune had two of the most lethal strikers in ISL history in their starting eleven today. Ian Hume and Marcelinho are without a doubt one of the most high profile pairs of strikers in the league. With Ian Hume making a return to the starting eleven after recovering from a long injury lay-off people thought that Pune's fortunes would change given the Canadian's ISL record. Marcelinho has been on fire since he came to the ISL and is probably one of the most lethal strikers to step foot in the country.
Both Hume and Marcelinho also enjoyed playing against Northeast United FC. Marcelinho for instances has scored most goals against Northeast United FC compared to other teams.
Today though both Hume and Marcelinho were poor. While Marcelinho found it difficult to get hold of the ball, Hume, on the other hand, was guilty of missing a few chances. Overall the Pune attacking third missed a host of opportunities to gift Northeast United the victory.
Even in the second half, Stankovic who replaced Hume missed a couple of good chances to score, and Nikhil Poojari had a glorious chance to equalise in the final moments but instead made a hash of things.
#3 Federico Gallego Show
One cannot say that Northeast United FC was brilliant today, they were, in fact, poor compared to the way they have played this season. But, the one thing that was really on a show today was the Federico Gallego show. Pune knew very well that Northeast United liked to play with the ball at their feet and keep possession of the ball. To counter that aspect of their game, Pune kept pressing hard and quickly closed down on players right from the word go.
Gallego thought it seemed like was prepared for such a tactic from Pune, and he always dropped deep bringing his marker out of position and then creating space for Ogbeche, Mascia and Rowllin to run into which generated more than few problems for the Pune defence. Gallego passing was on full show today as the Uruguayan midfielder showcased his wide range of passing. It was from his corner that Ogbeche opened the scoring today.
One must praise the way he dropped back and defended too. He made some crucial clearances during the dying moments of the game and helped NEUFC secure a vital win on the road. He was rightly awarded as the man of the match.
#2 Northeast United's Trio click, Pune's Trio flop
When the team list was out today one thing that was clear was that both the teams relied on trio up front. While NEUFC played in a 4-4-2 formation, it was usually the combination of Gallego from behind with the two strikers up front that created all the chances for Northeast United, making them rely on the trio of foreigners for the goals. The trio of Ogbeche, Mascia and Gallego didn't disappoint the Northeast faithful today as both the strikers scored while Gallego picked up an assist.
Pune relied on Marcelinho, Hume and Robin Singh for the goals today who were their front three today. While they did manage to create more than a few chances, the strikers for Pune were wasteful today and have themselves to blame for the loss today. The communication between the players was also lacking, and at times the gaps in communication were seen directly on the pitch.
Padyum Reddy needs to work on his team's coordination upfront if they are to progress to the playoff stages, something which at this point of time looks like a difficult task.
#1 Northeast United FC look like a Team Possessed to win
Eelco Schattorie has bought in a host of changes to this Northeast United side. For instances, this side has a winning mentality and tries to get on with things no matter what the situation is. No one would even say that this team reached Pune just 24 hours before kick off and didn't also have a proper training session before the game. They had to deal with the dilemma of flights being cancelled and a host of other problems, but on the pitch today they let nothing show.
It is this spirit and winning mentality that has prompted everyone to take notice of Northeast United FC this season. They have had two spectacular comeback victories this season and have so far managed to win all their away games this season.
The most significant change that Eelco has bought to this side is his philosophy of football. The players don't just kick the ball forward to pass the ball to the strikers and wait for something to happen; instead, they keep the ball and slowly work their way through the defence.
Another aspect that is really praiseworthy is their defensive organisation. They have the second-best defence in the league, and it has been one of the main factors in ensuring their win today.
Northeast United showed great character in overcoming all their adversaries to gain full points at the Balewadi Stadium in Pune today.
They didn't even let the injury to star defender Mislav Komorski affect their game, and that speaks volumes of the way Eelco has shaped his team.
