NorthEast United proved that their revival under interim coach Khalid Jamil is no fluke as they pulled off a stunning 2-1 win over Mumbai City FC in the Indian Super League at the Tilak Maidan, Vasco on Saturday.
After beating ATK Mohun Bagan in their last game, they produced another giant-killing act by beating the Islanders who were unbeaten for twelve games coming into the game. The win also propels the Highlanders back into the top four as Jamil is working his magic at the club with three wins on the trot.
Deshorn Brown was the star for NorthEast with two goals while Adam le Fondre struck a late goal which wasn't enough in the end. Interestingly, NorthEast are the only team to have beaten Mumbai this season and they managed to do it twice.
When the game got underway, the Highlanders showed that they were not going to simply sit back and defend against Sergio Lobera's side. They decided to play on the front foot which is not something a lot of teams would dare to do against Lobera's men. The game plan worked as the Highlanders took the lead as early as the sixth minute. The move came about when Luis Machado tested Mumbai keeper Amrinder Singh with a shot from distance.
While the Mumbai skipper parried it away, the ball fell nicely to the NorthEast right-back Nim-Dorjee who was lurking on the right flank. He swung in a perfect first-time cross which was met with a volley by Deshorn Brown who was not picked up at the far post.
Even before Mumbai could re-group, NorthEast scored again just three minutes later from a corner.
Scrappy defending from Mumbai saw them fail to clear the set-piece which was whipped into the six-yard box by Federico Gallego.
Mumbai defender Hernan Santana couldn't clear the ball and it fell kindly to Machado who inadvertently slid it into the path of Brown who made no mistake with his finish.
Mumbai were stung by the early onslaught and they were not allowed to settle as NorthEast kept them on the backfoot.
It could have gotten worse in the 20th minute when NorthEast left-back Provat Lakra swung in an early cross which beat the Mumbai defence and fell perfectly to Brown who scuffed his shot wide.
Most of Mumbai's attacks go through Hugo Boumous but the likes of Khassa Camara and Apuia did a brilliant job of nullifying his threat here.
The only notable shot that Mumbai had in the first half was a shot from outside the box by Ahmed Jahouh which was punched away by NorthEast keeper Subhasish Roy. They started the second half with the same intensity as Apuia drew a stunning save from Amrinder just seconds after resumption.
But as the second half went on, NorthEast started to slow the tempo down with Mumbai enjoying more of the ball.
Jamil's side were looking to hit on the break and Mumbai enjoyed a series of set-pieces but they were not able to break the NorthEast defence down which stood tall.
In the 84th minute, NorthEast switched off as Mumbai pulled one back with substitute Adam le Fondre scoring after being set up by his strike partner Bartholomew Ogbeche. There was some late pressure from Mumbai but NorthEast managed to hold on and get all three points.