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That's all from the match blog but be back for our match report and talking points from the match. We will also be putting up the podcast of the Game week 1 review. So be on the look out for that. Good night.
Not a convincing win but Jarni's men will take that. They got the early lead and looked to play on the break. That invited pressure as Odisha grew in confidence to get a well-deserved equaliser for all the passing it had. Then a red card proved costly as NEUFC pushed for a winner and eventually got it in the form of Gyan.
90' + 4' - Puitea nearly! He wins the ball from the edge of the box and with only the keeper to beat, he puts it over the bar. But it doesn't matter as the referee blows the whistle for full-time.
NEUFC looking to run down the clock to see out the win which will take them to the top of the table for the time being.
Five booking for NEUFC players on the night. Tlang is the latest player to go into the book.
Four minutes of time added on.
89' - Nandhakumar is booked for pulling at the shirt of Barreiro.
The home fans come alive after that goal by Gyan.
SUBS: Wayne Vaz goes off for Shouvik Ghosh. Daniel Lalhimpuia comes on for Vinit Rai.
85' - GOAAAL!! Asmoah Gyan marks his home debut with his first goal for the club! He wriggles himself free inside the box and gets a free header to nod it into the bottom left corner. Goalkeeper had no chance. Puitea with the outswinging corner.
84' - Redeem squares it to Gyan, who turns and sets up Leudo. The midfielder's piledriver is blocked by the backside of Xisco and deflects behind for a corner.
80' - SUB for NEUFC: Milan Singh is taken off for Puitea, also known as Lalthathanga Khawlhring.
Another replay likely suggests it's for the last man take down from Delgado.
73' - DRAMA FROM THE RESTART! RED CARD! Carlos Delgado is sent off! Barreiro is caught by a slightly high foot by the centre-back and the referee is quick to bring out the red coloured card. The decision seemed lightly harsh but it could be for a case of a last man tackle as well since Barreiro got to the ball first.
72' GOAAL! Odisha's ball possession finally turns into an end product! And it comes in the form of Diagne, who crosses from the right for Xisco to stab the ball home from six yards out.
68' - Tebar wins a loose ball but is caught by a late tackle by Vaz. Xisco takes a shot from distance which is deflected off a NEUFC defender before being collected by Subhasish.
64' - Cross in from the right and Santana leaves it through his legs for Xisco but Heerings is in the way. Santana was not under pressure there, and he probably should have controlled the ball and taken a shot at goal himself.
60' - SUB: Triadis is replaced by Maximilano Barreiro.
58' - Nandhakumar is found inside the box with a ball over the top. The winger checks in to leave Vaz on his backside but his right-footed shot is blocked by Heerings with Subhaish looking beaten.
56 minutes in and Odisha has 59 per cent possession.
55' - The referee fails to spot a shirt pull on Nandhakumar near the edge of the box.
It's Odisha which is dominating possession without much luck in penetrating NEUFC's defence.
51' - Tebar releases Diagne on the right side on a foray forward. The make-shift right-back takes his time, pushes forward before putting in a hard cross which no Odisha player can get to.
49' - Xisco with an inswinging corner which everyone inside the box misses and whizzes past goal.
47' - Crucial intervention from Vinit as Gyan was closing in for a tap in after a low cross from the right by Tlang.
Odisha makes a double change before restart. Geudes goes off for Diawandou Diagne. Sarangi is hauled off for winger Nandhakumar.
SECOND HALF
Referee blows the whistle for a half-time whistle. Odisha FC staring at a second straight defeat of the season as it goes into the break a goal down.
45' +1' - Another booking for NEUFC. Gyan and Gharami jump up for the ball where the latter's hand catches the ODisha defender on the head. Yellow for Gyan.
45' +1' - It's just the first half and Subhasish gets a yellow card for time wasting.
42' - Jerry swings in a cross from the right which Xisco meets but fails to get any real power or direction to it.
Odisha dominating possession wih Vinit Rai and Marcos Tebar quickly moving the ball from side to side as Gmbau's men look to open up spaces through the wings.
35' - SAVE! Delgado gets his head onto the c ross into the box and is denied from going into the net by a diving one-handed save from Subhasish! Pradhan blocks Jerry on the rebound with a sliding tackle.
34' - Best move of the night Odisha! Vinit plays in a cross-field pass for Jerry, who evades Rakesh with a superb first touch to release him free on the right. He runs in at goal and strikes a left-footed shot which is straight at Subhasish to make the save. Either side of the keeper and that would have been a goal.
32' - Triadis! The attacker cuts in from the left and takes a venomous strike at goal which requires Arshdeep to push it away on the dive.
30' - Crucial interception from Vaz to stop Santana from running onto a through ball.
29' - Odisha move the ball through the right side where Jerry finds Xisco in space inside the box. The forward lofts in a cross which evades Santana.
26' - Well worked move from NEUFC see them move the ball from midfield to release Gyan high up the right side. The Ghanian swings in a cross which requires a crucial clearance from Saranghi to deny Triadis from having a pop at goal.
22' - Vaz!! He should have hit the target! Triadis lofts a ball into the box and Vaz attacks to get his head on to it but is wide of the near post.
21' - Saranghi is under a lot of pressure here. Loses the ball to Chaves, wins it back before losing it again to Triadis and ends up conceding a corner.
20' - Saranghi pulls Triadis by the back of his shirt and the referee writes down the right-back's name into his book.
19' - Clash between Aridane and Leudo which sees the latter go crashing down on the floor. The midfielder is okay to continue.
17' - Aridane nearly makes room for himself to get a shot there. He cuts inside one NEUFC center-back but runs into Vaz, who clears it out. Gombau is a frustrated figure on the touchline.
Indian football team coach Igor Stimac is in attendance.
15' - Aridane blazes over from 10 yards out!! What a miss! Fortunately for the striker, he is flagged offside.
13' - Chaves looks to find Gyan from a free-kick but the delivery if long, goes out for a goal-kick.
9' - Guedes curls his free-kick over the ball but Subhasish gets behind it comfortably and collects it.
4' - Nervy start for Arshdeep as he comes out of his box to clear the ball and his kick finds a NorthEast player. Fortunately for him, NorthEast don't take advantage of the situation.
2' - GOAAAL! As easy as that for NorthEast. Chaves finds Triadis in space in the middle, who runs forward and plays a through ball on the right for Redeem Tlang. Tlang fires it straight down the middle and the ball takes a deflection of Arshdeep and goes into the net. What a start for NorthEast United FC!
1' - Kick-off here with Odisha, in white, playing from left to right.
Both NorthEast and Odisha have made a couple of changes. Both teams will likely line-up in a 4-2-3-1 formation. Arshdeep Singh will make his debut between the sticks for Odisha. First half is just minutes away in Guwahati.
FIRST HALF
Robert Jarni's NorthEast made a positive start in the match against the defending champion Bengaluru FC. On the other hand, Odisha failed to capitalise on the numerical man advantage against Jamshedpur FC and succumbed to a 2-1 defeat.
RECAP OF YESTERDAY
ATK returned to winning ways in style blanking debutante Hyderabad FC 5-0 in its first home outing of the sixth Indian Super League season here at the Salt Lake Stadium on Friday.
David Williams found the target twice in the first half while Roy Krishna struck once as the host led 3-0 in the first half. Second half Substitute Edu Garcia scored twice towards the end to secure the biggest win for ATK in the tournament.
Full report: ATK downs Hyderabad 5-0 for its biggest win
Talking points:
ATK thumps listless Hyderabad - Talking points
MATCH PREVIEW
NorthEast United FC and Odisha FC go in search of their first win of the Indian Super League 2019-20 as the sides lock horns at the Indira Gandhi Athletic Stadium in Guwahati on Saturday.
NorthEast United started its campaign with a goalless draw away from home to Bengaluru FC while Odisha FC suffered a 1-2 defeat at the hands of Jamshedpur FC in its ISL debut.
The Highlanders will count on home support to help them notch their first win and kickstart the campaign.
Head coach Robert Jarni would have been pleased with the way the team defended against a strong Bengaluru FC, with Mislav Komorski and Kai Heerings looking solid as a central defensive partnership. Colombian midfielder Jose Leudo was an efficient screen for them, sitting deep in midfield and snuffing out opposition moves.
“I am happy with the point (against Bengaluru FC). The team worked hard against the defending champions. Now at home, we will look to play more attacking football. We are ready for that kind of football as well,” Jarni said ahead of Saturday's clash.
However, the Croatian will want his forward line to start converting chances. With Uruguayan attacking midfielder Martin Chaves looking sharp against Bengaluru, star striker Asamoah Gyan can again expect good service.
“He (Gyan) had good chances to score (against Bengaluru). It is always difficult to create chances against Bengaluru. Everybody knows him here, he is a very important player for us,” said the coach.
For Odisha, the game will be all about making its opportunities count. It was caught out on the counter numerous times against Jamshedpur in the previous game despite playing against 10 men. Coach Josep Gombau would have been left frustrated with how his team conceded a late goal. The defence, led by Carlos Delgado, needs to buckle up against the likes of Gyan and Chaves.
Given that the Spaniard advocates a possession-based philosophy, Odisha needs to remain cautious against counter-attacks.
“We have our own way to play. We respect the team we are playing against a lot. We’re satisfied with our players. We discussed the result (against Jamshedpur) with all players. We had a few chances, but we couldn’t score,” said Gombau.
In Aridane Santana, Odisha seems to have a potent goalscorer, if his smart finish against Jamshedpur is anything to go by. Former Bengaluru FC midfielder Xisco Hernandez also impressed in that game and more of the same will be expected from them against a difficult opponent.
The teams do not have any major fitness concerns and can be expected to have a go at each other and grab that all-important first win of the season.
MATCH BROADCAST DETAILS:
NorthEast United FC vs Odisha FC will be shown on Star Sports network and can also be streamed live on Hotstar. The kick-off is scheduled for 7:30 PM IST.
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