ISL 2018-19: NorthEast United FC vs FC Goa - 5 Talking Points

#1 NEUFC's recruits drag them out of a pothole to see daylight

Federico Gallego impressed one and all during the game [Credits: ISL]

It was halftime at the Indira Gandhi Athletic Stadium in Guwahati, the scoreboard read 2-1 in favour of FC Goa, and the usual murmur in the crowd was that of relief as the score could have easily been 3-4 goals to one. Yet there was an air of hope doing the rounds which seemed missing last season, and the hope generated from seeing the foreign players play.

During the first half especially after Coro gave Goa the lead, it looked like it would be the same story all over again for NorthEast United FC, but this season's bunch of players have something different in them, and that difference was all that was needed to get the team a vital point.

The foreigners especially Federico Gallego and the Croatian centre-back duo of Mislav and Mato were very good. Star striker Ogbeche scored a vital goal on his birthday to get an all-important point from the first game.

What was more pleasing to see apart from NorthEast United securing a point is the way they crawled back into the game to level things up and take the game to Goa; it was something that had been missing all throughout last season. It seems the new signings of NEUFC have helped the Highlanders regain their warrior spirits, something which the region is very well known for.

Eelco will hope his players can take the positives from this game keep playing as they did in the second half.