Half Time Report: Physical battle of equals sees NorthEast and Delhi trade a goal each
Starting Line-Up:
NorthEast United FC - Rehenesh TP, Yumnam Raju, Cedric Hengbart, Carlos Lopez, Reagan Singh, Silas, Diomansy Kamara, Siam Hanghal, Seityasen Singh, Simao Sabrosa, Victor Mendy
Delhi Dynamos FC - Toni Doblas, Anas Edathodika, Zodingliana Ralte, Souvik Chakraborty, Chicao, Sehnaj Singh, Vinicius Ferreira, Florent Malouda, Hans Mulder, Robin Singh, Richard Gadze
A HARD-FOUGHT physical half at Guwahati saw NorthEast United and Delhi Dynamos play out a battle of equals, trading attacks, fouls, yellow cards as well as a goal each.
Cesar Faria 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 there, poised at 1-1 with both teams looking like they can pull the final trigger. The win is important for both franchises but more so for NEUFC. But they need to incrase the intensity of the attacks in order to really intimidate Delhi. Kamara hasn't been that effective of late; maybe replacing him Velez will put more pressure on Doblas & co.
