Rowllin Borges produced the winner a minute from time to help NorthEast United FC (NEUFC) down ATK by a solitary goal and end a long drought in winning ‘away’ matches. The host was reduced to 10 men in the 32nd minute, when it lost left-back Lalhmangaihsanga Ralte to a double booking.
The host stuck to its defensive organisation in the opening half thus allowing the visitor to plan its attacks. A cross from Nikhil Kadam in the third minute found Uruguayan Federico Gallego on top of the box but his attempt was saved by ATK centre-back Gerson Viera. Though the resultant corner failed to produce anything, the visitor continued to work hard in the middle thus maintaining a greater share of ball possession.
The first half, otherwise, remained listless with neither side showing the intent or application to be overtly offensive. Things started moving NEUFC’s way after Ralte received the second booking of the match and was marched off. The host had to curtail its attacking options even further.
The visitor had a chance to move ahead in the 35th minute but captain Bartholomew Ogbeche failed to keep his attempted jab on a Nikhil Kadam cross on target.
Nearly breaking through
The host came back strongly after the interval and almost got the break on a fine build-up through the left. Moroccan midfielder Noussair El Maimpouni set up a nice floater on the box that was headed along by Everton Santos, who found his upfront colleague Manuel Lanzarote near the far post. The Spaniard made a valiant attempt just to see the NEUFC custodian T.P. Rehenesh getting a hand to clear the goal-ward ball.
The action then got to the level of the hunter and the hunted as ATK retreated to maintain the shape in defence, while NEUFC tried hard to punch holes in the fortification. But the visitor’s passing in the final third did not look that incisive, allowing ATK to keep its citadel safe despite the numerical disadvantage.
The visitor’s relentless efforts finally paid off in the 89th minute through a corner when Borges broke the ATK cordon to nod home a corner from Gallego. This ended NEUFC’s win-less run of seven matches away from home (last win on Dec. 2, 2017 against Dynamos).
The result: ATK 0 lost to NorthEast United FC 1 (Rowllin Borges 89).
