Northeast United held 1-1 at home against Pune

Northeast United could have sealed a place among the top four with a victory but the draw in a closely-fought clash against Pune City means it has to wait longer to know its fate.

Rowllin Borges scored for Northeast United in the 47th minute.

Northast United FC will have to wait till the conclusion of its league engagements to know if it has qualified for the Indian Super League playoffs after it was held to a 1-1 draw by FC Pune City in Guwahati on Wednesday.

The home side could have sealed a place among the top four with a victory but the draw in a closely-fought clash at the Indira Gandhi Athletic Stadium means it has to wait longer to know its fate.

Rowllin Borges’ 47th-minute strike looked to have given Northeast three points and a spot in the playoffs. But Pune equalised though Adil Khan who slammed home a volley in the 69th minute before Northeast was reduced to 10 men after Jose Leudo was sent off for violent conduct.

READ | As it happened

The result saw Pune’s mathematical chances of reaching the playoffs snuffed out while Northeast, placed third with 28 points, will have to win its last league match against Kerala Blasters.

After a drab first half, Northeast raised the tempo and broke the deadlock soon after the restart. In the 47th minute, Khawlhring fired the ball into the feet of Bartholomew Ogbeche who laid it off for Borges inside the box. Pune custodian Kamaljit Singh came off his line to collect the ball but palmed it back into the path of Borges who slotted the ball into an empty net.

Pune rallied after that goal and used the wide areas to good effect as it put pressure in the attacking third to find a way back into the game. Ashique Kuruniyan delivered an excellent cross from the left wing to find Adil unmarked inside the box. The midfielder smashed a cracking volley into the net, pulling his side level in the 69th minute.

Hume came close to scoring his first goal for Pune in the 80th minute. A long throw-in by Sarthak Golui was mistakenly headed into the path of the striker by Janeiler Rivas but the Canadian’s shot from close-range struck the post and went out. Hume’s misfortune in front of goal continued as Diego Carlos found the striker in the centre of the box with a splendid cross from the right flank. The striker sneaked in behind the defence but headed the ball over the bar.

A red card to Leudo late in the game after he elbowed Carlos, made matters worse for Northeast United which struggled to impact the game as the second half wore on.