A SECOND HALF REVIVAL ensured NorthEast United a victory against Downtown Heroes; and a place in the Durand Cup quarter finals.
NEUFC coach Juan Pedro had started out on an offensive note with 5 attacking players starting for him. But the early attack produced the opposite result.
Parvaj Bhuiya scored for DHFC, putting the local league side ahead. The local side, who were already eliminated from the tournament, held their own through the rest of the first half and maintained their lead.
The Highlanders had a chance to change things around at half-time, and it seemed to work immediately. Soon After the match resumed, Ibson De Melo and Romain Philippoteaux struck the net, swinging the game back in NEUFC's favour. Towards the end, Parthib Gogoi made sure to push through a third goal to get them a 2 goal cushion.
The win took NEUFC to 7 points from 3 matches. Although they finished below FC Goa in Group D, they ensured a place in the knockout stage as the best runner up among all six groups.
Undefeated so far, the Highlanders have made a hopeful start to their Durand Cup campaign after a rather disappointment 2022-23 season.