Major blow to Highlanders' playoff dreams as Delhi put late winner past unwatchful defence

MOMENTARY LAPSES in defence made NorthEast United pay dearly as Delhi Dynamos were able to sneak a late winner past them at Guwahati tonight, landing a major blow to their semi-final bid while taking their own to the verge of success.

Cesar Farias came into this crucial home fixture with four changes to the line-up from the previous game: he brought in Diomansy Kamara, Siam Hanghal, Seityasen Singh and Victor Mendy into the squad for NorthEast United. 

Delhi Dynamos coach Roberto Carlos, meanwhile, decided to rest their defensive lynchpin John Arne Riise, and made three changes to their squad from the 4-0 loss at Chennai; bringing in Sehnaj Singh, Hans Mulder and Richard Gadze.

The match started on a sour note when a tackle by Souvik Chakraborty on Diomansy Kamara went horribly wrong for the defender and he picked up an injury that saw him stretched off from the ground. The visitors were forced into making a change within the first 5 minutes: Souvik was replaced by Seminlen Doungel. The fallout from this was visible for some time: the game was decidedly physical. 

A good ball from Richard Gadze saw Robin SIngh take a crack at the goal but Rehenesh managed to make the save. Delhi moved again, this time Chicao making a run, but Victor Mendy brought him down in a rather nasty fashion. He got the first yellow card of the match; there were many more to come.

A few minutes of back and forth followed; cut short usually by fouls. Mendy brought down Anas Edathodika, Kamara was tackled by Sehnaj Singh. Mendy managed to get on the other end of a Hengbart through ball and take a short; it took a deflection from Anas but Doblas saved it. 

But it was the visitors who ultimately got the first break-through. A botched attempted clearance from a a defender saw a couple of high headers on the ball. Ultimately it landed on Richard Gadze, whose back-header went straight to Robin Singh who was standing onside with the goal close by, completely unmarked. He put a first-time finisher on the ball, sending it straight into the net. Delhi were 1-0 ahead.

But the Highlanders did not let the Lions rest easy and put all their force forward to get an equalizer as soon as possible. Seityasen Singh sent a gem of a cross to Simao Sabrosa who only had Doblas to beat but could not get his balance right and his weak shot went straight to the keeper. Then a Siam Hanghal cross reached Victor Mendy who headed the ball but it missed the target. 

Delhi immediately countered. Robin Singh sent a cross in for Doungel who headed it towards the goal but Rehenesh got to it. Then a great through ball from Vinicius saw Robin rushing in towards the goal with only Rehenesh ahead. The NEUFC keeper ran ahead and made the clearance with a two-footed challenge; it was as clean as it gets.

And then came the equaizer. A long goal kick landed deep inside Delhi half and Zodingliana Ralte made a mess of it trying to clear it. He ended up playing it straight to Seityasen Singh, who ran straight in with the ball and put it away with a swing of the left foot. The crowd that had gone pin-drop silent after the first goal exploded into a lour torrent of cheer as the Highlanders drew level. 1-1.

Fouls and general physicality continued. Reagan Singh got booked for a foul. Then Sehnaj Singh elbowed Diomansy Kamara. The latter lost his cool and grabbed Sehnaj by the neck to tell him off. Multiple players and the referee had to get involved to make sure the situation did not deteriorate. Both players got yellow carded.

The half ended, poised 1-1 with both teams looking like they can pull the final trigger. The second half took things from where the first half left off. 

Vinicius brought down Victor Mendy and got a yellow card. Then Richard Gadze pulled Cedric Hengbart back and got booked as well. Robin Singh, not to be left behind, got his customary booking by pushing Simao Sabrosa and and arguing with the referee. 

The substitutions began to come in as well. Roberto Carlos replaced Vinicius with Gustavo Marmentini. Cesar Farias, too, made a move; bringing on Nicolas Velez for Diomansy Kamara. 

Gustavo had immediate impact. Within minutes of coming on he had a crack at the goal that Rehenesh managed to keep out with a slap. 

Soon, Farias made the second change, bringing on Bruno Herrero to replace Simao Sabrosa. Bruno soon delivered a corner that Doblas punched away but it reached Siam Hanghal, who shot it way above target. 

Robin Singh almost got his second goal of the night when Richard Gadze's long ranger brushed him and went towards the goal; missing the target by whiskers. 

More substitutions followed as the match neared the 90 minute mark. Sanju Pradhan came on for Seityasen Singh and Richard Gadze was replaced by Adil Nabi. 

And just when the match was looking like an inevitable draw, Delhi snuck in a goal. Gustavo got the ball, well out of the penalty box, and took the shot that Rehenesh should have been able to keep out. But the keeper was caught napping, and the fraction-of-a-second delay in his reaction was enough for the ball to beat his hand by inches. Delhi were leading 2-1. Gustavo ran up the sidelines, daring the crowd to make some noise. They remained silent.

Soon came the final whistle, a relief for the visitors who have now made a top four berth almost certain. But the home team's playoff hopes received a major setback tonight. They will now have to depend on multiple teams going through losses in order to make it to the semi-finals. 

With 21 points from 12 matches, Delhi Dynamos have now claimed the 2nd spot on the table. From this point, two draws or one win will be enough for them to make sure they get to feature in the semi-finals, but it is likely that they won't even need that much. But just to be on the safe side, Roberto Carlos will want to beat Kerala Blasters at home on Thursday to make it official. 

As for NorthEast United, so many things went wrong for them tonight. Marking was consistently bad and Delhi attackers were allowed to create pressure situations way too often. Nicolas Velez, a proven impact player, was benched on a pivotal match like this and brought on for the last 30 minutes; a decision that makes no sense. And Rehenesh had a highly forgettable performance; a keeper of his talent and stature should have saved both the shots that went into the goal. 

The Highlanders struggled at the start of the campaign but managed to recover wonderfully and reached a stage where a semi-final berth looked not only possible but plausible. This defeat is a massive setback, but Cesar Farias will have to convince his players that it's not over yet, far from it.

To get into the top four NorthEast United will need to make sure that they win their last regular season match, and hope that Chennaiyin FC lose at least one of their remaining matches. So, the Highlanders will have to play their hearts out against Pune City at home on Wednesday and make sure they get the win at any cost. Maybe Chennai will be beaten by Mumbai on Tuesday and they'll know it's their chance. Or maybe they won't and NEUFC won't know if that win would be enough. But either way, for their fans who have stayed loyal, for their players and staff who have been with the team since its inception, they will have to make one last push for vindication. Because how they play in that one last match will come to define their season.