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Northeast United FC and Delhi Dynamos FC shared the spoils at the Indira Gandhi Stadium in Guwahati in a tightly contested encounter. The 1-1 scoreline didn't change the position of either teams who sit on the fourth and eighth spot in the points table respectively.
NorthEast United FC coach Eelco Schattorie made only one change to the side that lost 2-1 to Bengaluru FC as injured Mislav Komorski made his way for the new signing Panagiotis Triadis.
Delhi Dynamos FC, on the other hand, made two changes to the starting lineup as Vinit Rai and Ulises Dávila found their name in the starting lineup in lieu of Bikramjit Singh and Rene Mihelic.
The away side broke the deadlock in the 67th minute through Marcos Tebar after rival goalkeeper Rehenesh TP spilled a cross. However, the joy was short lived as Bartholomew Ogbeche converted a penalty three minutes later after Narayan Das clipped his legs.
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On that note, here are five talking points from the NorthEast United vs. Delhi Dynamos encounter in the ISL.
#5 Defenders getting the better of the ball in the first 35 minutes of the game
There was only one shot on target in the first 35 minutes of the game when Rehnesh TP passed the ball horrendously to Lallianzuala Chhangte. However, the Keralite made himself tall enough to avert the danger from a one-on-one situation.
Apart from that, there were no other chances in the first 35 minutes of the game. The midfielders, wingers, and strikers shouldn't be blamed as both the managers had done their homework and the defenders attributed it.
In the first half itself, Reagan Singh made 3 tackles, 3 clearances, and 3 blocks, Mato Grgic made 1 tackle, 4 clearances, 1 interception, and 2 blocks, and Robert Lalthlamuana made 2 tackles, 4 clearances, and 1 block. Jose Leudo, who played as a centre-back until Gurwinder Singh's arrival, made 3 tackles, 4 clearances, 1 interception, and 1 block.
Delhi Dynamos' defenders' numbers weren't bad either in the specified time period. Rana Gharami made 3 tackles and 1 clearance, Marti Crespi made 5 clearances and 1 block, Gianni Zuiverloon made 5 clearances, 3 interceptions, and 3 blocks, and Narayan Das made only a single tackle, clearance, and block.
#4 A cagey midfield affair in the first half
Both Eelco Schattorie and Josep Gombau deployed their Northeast United and Delhi Dynamos men respectively in a 4-5-1 formation.
And, rather than making use of the wings and whipping in crosses, both the sides decided to exploit the center. As a result, none of the sides had a leverage in the midfield and they constantly dispossessed each other.
For NorthEast United FC, only Rowllin Borges and Lalthathanga Khawlhring kept a passing accuracy of more than 60% in the first half. Redeem Tlang was taken off in the 33rd minute so that Jose Leudo can play in the center of the park rather than in the back four.
For Delhi Dynamos FC, Marcos Tebar and Ulises Davila were the only two midfielders who succeeded in maintaining a passing accuracy of more than 60% in the specified time period.
However, both the sets of midfielders gave a good account of themselves defensively. Northeast United FC midfielders made 10 tackles, 3 interceptions, and 3 blocks with Federico Gallego alone contributing 5 out of the 10 successful tackles. On the other hand, Delhi Dynamos midfielders made 4 tackles and 8 interceptions.
#3 Game opened up in the dying embers of the first half and second half
NorthEast United FC and Delhi Dynamos realized that they wouldn't be profited by squeezing themselves down the center. They need to exploit the wings, draw out the opponents, and pounce on the pockets of space created.
Both the sets of players must have received the same instructions from the touchline and, they didn't disappoint the managers. Apart from the horrendous mispass towards Chhangte which we mentioned before, the only other goalmouth action came in the dying embers of the first half when Panagiotis Triadis hit the crossbar after receiving a pass from Rowllin Borges.
In the 49th minute, Bartholomew Ogbeche beat the offside trap but miscued his effort when tested one-on-one with Francis Dorronsoro.
In the 59th minute, Greek signing Panagiotis Triadis gave a rabona cross towards Ogbeche but he headed it straight towards the goalkeeper. Even in the 92nd minute, Rowllin Borges hit the underside of the crossbar.
Delhi Dynamos, too, showed intent through substitute Romeo Fernandes but the defenders stood tall. Unlike the first half snoozefest, the second half was a very lively affair and a treat for the 6000 odd audience who came to the stadium.
#2 Goalkeepers almost conceding goals thanks to their individual errors
Both Francis Dorronsoro and Rehenesh TP pulled up some top-notch saves and closed the angles to deny the oppositions from scoring goals. However, they were also lucky not to concede goals thanks to their individual error.
Rehenesh TP made a horrendous mispass towards Lallianzuala Chhangte which we mentioned before. He eventually got punished in the 67th minute when he punched a Romeo Fernandes cross straight on Marcos Tebar's path who slotted it home.
Delhi Dynamos' Francis Dorronsoro, however, was lucky not to be punished for his two howlers. In the 75th minute, the Spaniard fumbled his lines and failed to hold the ball from going out for a corner kick.
Thankfully, the set-piece came to nothing. In the 88th minute, his clearance fell straight in the path of Rowllin Borges who could have shot straight at goal as Dorronsoro was out of his line. However, he delayed it and Marcos Tebar closed him down.
#1 Both the sides looking to score through crosses
NorthEast United FC scored 33% percent of the goal through crosses and even conceded the most number of goals through the same routine heading into the match.
The realization that the outcome of the match could only be decided through the aerial route struck the managers' brain late. But, when it struck, they made full use of it.
Northeast United FC, for instance, whipped in 21 crosses with the 'Hero of the Match' Panagiotis Triadis and Federico Gallego lodging in 5 dangerous ones each. Bartholomew Ogbeche was the lone target man but, he couldn't make full use of those curling deliveries.
Both the Delhi Dynamos wingers, Lallianzuala Chhangte and Nandhakumar Sekar, like to cut inside rather than curl the ball across the face of the goal. The fullbacks, Narayan Das and Rana Gharami, were on the back foot more than often and rarely got any chance to overlap.
As a result, Josep Gombau introduced Romeo Fernandes in the 61st minute for Norway-bound Lallianzuala Chhangte.
In the 30 odd minutes he got to showcase his talent, the former FC Goa star whipped in three dangerous crosses, with one of them even finding the back of the net after Rehenesh spilled his lines.
The Goan's ability to curl in cross even when given an inch came handy today. If he had started the game, Delhi Dynamos could have had the upper hand.
ALSO SEE: ISL Fixtures | ISL Points Table | ISL Results
