Highlanders move up from bottom of table with a confident 1-0 win against ATK

NORTHEAST UNITED held fast onto their early lead from a Simao Sabrosa penalty conversion to earn their first win away from home of the season against defending ISL champions Atletico de Kolkata tonight.

Atletico de Kolkata went with mostly the same team that beat Mumbai City away from home, with the exception of new signing Mohammed Rafique replacing Syed Rahim Nabi. For NorthEast United, there was a wholesale change, with Bruno Herrero, Nicolas Velez, marquee Simao Sabrosa, Reagan Singh and Siam Hanghal all making it into the starting line-up.

The visitors took the lead very early in the game. In the 7th minute during a corner Oftense Nato walked into a leaping Carlos Lopez, causing him to fall awkwardly on his head. The referee immediately pointed towards the spot. Simao Sabrosa stepped up to take the penalty kick and converted. 

Throughout the rest of the half, the defending champions tried hard to get even and NEUFC, slightly on the defensive under a wabe of attacks from the home side, held on tight to deny them.

Iain Hume was brought down by Carlos Lopez who got on the referee's book. Gavilan took the free kick but Rehenesh foiled it.

Sameehg Doutie also got brought down, right outside the box as well, after a through ball from Borja Fernandez got to him. But he was already in an offside position, so the free kick from a great position did not materialise for ATK.

A good pass from Bruno reached Nicolas Velez gave him a good shot at the goal, but the effort went above the crossbar. Then Borja got through to Iain Hume but Rehenesh came to the rescue for the Highlanders.

And then Velez scored. It was Simao who had invaded the box and trumped the keeper. He passed to Velez who slotted the ball in. But by then the linesman's flag was up as the Argentinian striker was already in an offside position.

Towards the end of the first half new old boy Mohammed Rafique flashed into action, invading the box and setting Hume up, but the Canadian striker missed the target.

Rafique had one more good chance, as a ball from Gavilan saw him breach the NEUFC defensive line and sprint towards the ball. Had he got to the ball he would be inside the box with acres of space and only the keeper ahead. But he fell short. 

Thus at the end of the first half NorthEast United managed to keep their 1 goal lead. Now, one half of football was all that stood between them and their first away win of the season. And ATK came out all guns blazing in the second half to stop that.

Habas made two changes to begin the half with. Arnab Mondal replaced Jewel Raja, Nato made way for Valdo. 

Soon it became clear that the second half was going to be much more aggressive and attack-oriented than the first. 

A great pass towards Nicolas Velez almost broke ATK's defensive wall but the striker was unable to control the ball and Amrinder, the ATK keeper, took it away.

Then another pass came to Velez. Set up by Bruno, he found himself within scoring range and took the shot but missed the target by two inches. 

Then came a brilliant cross from Rafique straight for Hume who was waiting to knock it into the goal but Andre Bikey threw himself to get in the way of the ball and clear it for corner. Next minute, Gavilan took a striaght shot at the goal that took a dangerous deflection off Bikey but Rehenesh was alert and was able to save it.

As the game approached the 70 minute mark, Cesar Farias fielded Francis Dadzie replacing Nicolas Velez up front to get more speed into their attacks. By now NEUFC were looking set in their quest to keep most of the ball, make ATK work for possession and run the clock out; their attacks a means to shift the pressure from their own defence.

Tension rose as pressure grew, especially in the midfield. Bruno Herrero made a nasty foul on Sameehg Doutie, got booked and was immediately replaced by Diomansy Kamara. Then Silas managed to come down hard on Hume's shin and collected a yellow of his own.

Towards the end of the game there were several near-misses. Both goalkeepers were caught out of position but on every occasion the ball either narrowly missed the target or the cross went unattended. One such attack happened in the last minute when Kamara sprinted right into the box and took a shot that beat Amrinder but went just wide.

And then came the whistle. A hard night's work had paid off for NorthEast United who completed the double on the defending champions, and earned their first full points from an away match. They now have risen to the 7th position, trailing Atletico de Kolkata and Chennaiyin FC only by goal difference, as all of them are on 10 points from 8 matches.

For Atletico de Kolkata, this performance once again highlights the lack of consistency they have shown throughout the season. Even though they have dominated oppositions on their nights be it at home or away, they haven't been able to get a winning streak going. And after 8 matches their defence is yet to give them a single clean sheet. Interestingly, last year when their attackers struggled to find goals, it was their defence that propelled them forward by not letting in a single goal. However, the penalty decision tonight was slightly sketchy. But whether Nato intentionally brought down Carlos or not, him walking straight into a man in the air could not have been ignored by the referee. 

So here we are, at the end of the 8th round with the top 7 teams separated by 4 points, Kerala Blasters trailing the lot 2 points behind. NEUFC have won the game tonight they might face a more stern test when they face Chennaiyin FC away from home on Wednesday. Atletico de Kolkata, too, are looking at a tough trip down south as they are scheduled to face off with Kerala Blasters on Tuesday night. Among these two teams, ATK perhaps stand a better chance of ultimately making it to the top four, thanks to 4 back to back home games coming their way after the next 2 away fixtures. But judging by tonight's performance on home soil, they won't be riding too high on confidence for sure.