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Preview: NorthEast United FC will look to continue their fairy tale run when they take on ATK Mohun Bagan in the first leg of second semi-final of the Indian Super League on Saturday. NorthEast United were written off after their mid-season slump but they produced a stunning turnaround with Khalid Jamil leading them to their second playoffs. Jamil has remained unbeaten in the nine games, recording six wins and three draws and he will now look to carry on the momentum when his team clashes against ATK Mohun Bagan. “All the players have worked very hard. Because of them, we have reached here. I never think about the nine matches. It’s about right from the first game. The boys have worked hard and I am very proud to be their coach,” Jamil said. The match will be between two sides with similar approaches. Every time the Highlanders have taken a lead, they have been impossible to beat. They took the lead on 13 occasions this season and won eight, shared points in the rest. Bagan work on similar lines. Having taken the lead 14 times, ATKMB have won 12 and drawn 2. “We are going to play against a good team. ATK Mohun Bagan are a good side. Defensively strong and their attack is strong too. We have to be very careful as the first match is very important,” Jamil said. Bagan coach Antonio Habas is winless in three first leg ISL semifinals, losing 2 and drawing 1. For ATK Mohun Bagan, the last three games cost them the League Winners Shield. “NorthEast United have had a good ISL season. It’s a very difficult team because they have good players in defence, central midfield and good players in attack,” said Habas. With inputs from PTI.
Highlights, ISL 2021 Semi-final, NorthEast United vs ATK Mohun Bagan, Full score: Idrissa Sylla saves NEUFC in 1-1 draw
Catch all the latest updates and the live score from the first leg of the ISL semi-final fixture between ATK Mohun Bagan FC and NorthEast United on Firstpost.com’s live blog!
 "Highlights, ISL 2021 Semi-final, NorthEast United vs ATK Mohun Bagan, Full score: Idrissa Sylla saves NEUFC in 1-1 draw")
That’s it for tonight folks!
ATK looked like they’d be taking a slender lead into the second leg, courtesy of David Williams’ excellently taken first-half goal, but Idrissa Sylla had something to say about it, scoring a thrilling equaliser in the 93rd minute. With both semi-finals now all-square after a couple of draws, there’s everything still to play for in the second legs. Join us on Monday, as we bring you all the latest updates and more from FC Goa’s match against Mumbai City! Until then, good bye and goodnight.
FT | NorthEast United 1 – 1 ATK Mohun Bagan
An end-to-end affair in the first half, this match eventually boiled down to a tetchy back and forth as the second half progressed, but it was brought back to life in spectacular fashion by an equalising goal from Idrissa Sylla in the 93rd minute! ATK Mohun Bagan appeared to be taking a 1-0 lead into the second leg, and were never under too much pressure, barring a small spell on either side of half time, but like they’ve done on several occasions in the league stage, NorthEast United manage to stay alive.
94’ | NorthEast United 1 – 1 ATK Mohun Bagan
IN THE DYING EMBERS OF THIS MATCH, IDRISSA SYLLA GETS HIS TEAM A CRUCIAL EQUALISER! It comes from a delightful cross off the boot of Luis Machado, and Sylla leaps highest, before dispatching his header beyond the reach of Arindam Bhattacharya! That goal came out of absolutely nowhere, but it essentially means that we’re right back to square one in this semi-final tie!
91’ | NorthEast United 0 – 1 ATK Mohun Bagan
Almost inexplicably, there’s six long minutes of stoppage time. I can’t recall a particularly long break, but I suppose it is what it is. Surely this will spur NorthEast into action, they have a good chunk of time in which to earn themselves an equaliser.
87’ | NorthEast United 0 – 1 ATK Mohun Bagan
A rare shot on target, as Manvir whacks a speculative attempt in the direction of Chowdhury from many, many yards out. It’s claimed very comfortably by the NorthEast goalkeeper.
84’ | NorthEast United 0 – 1 ATK Mohun Bagan
Ashutosh Mehta is given a yellow card for a crunching tackle on David Williams, and this match looks in danger of devolving into a bit of a scrappy affair. The pace has completely gone out of this contest at the minute, and the ball’s seeing more airtime than a rerun of Friends.
82’ | NorthEast United 0 – 1 ATK Mohun Bagan
Antonio Habas makes his first change of the night, with Pronay Halder coming on for Marcelinho. Looks like a case of shoring things up and tightening the defense. Javi Hernandes meanwhile has lost his cool a bit after being fouled, committing two fouls of his own in quick succession to pick up a yellow card.
75’ | NorthEast United 0 – 1 ATK Mohun Bagan
We’re in the last 15 minutes of regulation play, and we head into the second drinks break. NorthEast look a lot further from an equaliser than they did on either side of the half time interval. If ATK can hang on and take this lead into the second-leg, it’s hard to see a way back into the tie for NorthEast.
75’ | NorthEast United 0 – 1 ATK Mohun Bagan
Khalid Jamil decides to take of Suhair, and his decision is vindicated in seconds, as Suhair’s very last contribution to the game is a clumsy foul. Suhair has struggled tonight, and he’s replaced by Britto PM.
73’ | NorthEast United 0 – 1 ATK Mohun Bagan
Luis Machado has been trying a bit too hard tonight. He’s really working his socks off, but he keeps trying to force a breakthrough, instead of doing the simple things, and that’s leading to him being dispossessed time and again in the final third.
67’ | NorthEast United 0 – 1 ATK Mohun Bagan
Khalid Jamil is lining up a couple of changes, and you can see why, he needs someone to breathe life into his side. Lambot and Nim Dorjee come off for Idrissa Sylla and Mashoor Shereef. Ashutosh drops back into his preferred right-back role from right midfield.
65’ | NorthEast United 0 – 1 ATK Mohun Bagan
NorthEast United have gone ten games without defeat, but at the moment, it really does look like that run is coming to an end. Apart from Gallego, there doesn’t really seem to be any attacking options open for them, and they’ve dropped off in terms of intensity as well. Meanwhile ATK are making sure to keep their shape and stay nice and compact while defending.
59’ | NorthEast United 0 – 1 ATK Mohun Bagan
Gallego’s been a real nuisance with his set-piece delivery, but his appetising crosses and corners still haven’t been attacked with any real intent by his NorthEast teammates. You have to think that someone will take him up on a chance sooner rather than later though.
56’ | NorthEast United 0 – 1 ATK Mohun Bagan
Another set piece opportunity for NorthEast, as Roy Krishna commits a foul about 30 yards away from the goal. Gallego puts in another great ball, trying to find Dylan Fox at the far post, but there’s just a little bit too much on the ball for the defender to direct his header goalwards.
49’ | NorthEast United 0 – 1 ATK Mohun Bagan
Arindam Bhattacharya comes racing out of his penalty area to confront Luis Machado, and he takes him clean out! The referee rules in the goalkeeper’s favour however, saying he’s got the ball. The replay shows that there was a fair bit of contact, enough to issue Bhattacharja a straight red for a wild, out of control last man tackle. He’s a lucky lucky boy.
47’ | NorthEast United 0 – 1 ATK Mohun Bagan
What can NorthEast do to get themselves back into this match? They were pretty close to getting themselves level towards the end of the first half, and this is by no means out of their reach. They get the first decent chance of the second half, as Gallego plays a ball square to Khassa Camara on the edge of the penalty area. The Mauritania international is unable to keep his shot down though, and it whizzes over the bar.
HT | NorthEast United 0 – 1 ATK Mohun Bagan
The half-time whistle could not come soon enough for ATK! They were under siege, with NorthEast’s frontline pressing them back towards their own goal. Gallego almost put Ashutosh on the score sheet with a delightful set-piece delivery, but the NEUTD man’s header is tipped over the cross-bar by Bhattacharja. But ATK persevered, and thanks to some good defending and some sloppy play from NorthEast, the reigning champions enter the half-time break in this semi-final match with their slender, slender lead intact.
42’ | NorthEast United 0 – 1 ATK Mohun Bagan
Good response from NorthEast United, they’re really trying hard to get that equaliser. They’re applying some pressure, and it’s Carl McHugh again who can’t cope with it, giving away another silly freekick, and this one’s even better placed. What can Gallego do on the second time of asking? This time he goes for a cross, and it’s cut out by an ATK defender. Disappointing that, they had a chance to hurt ATK.
38’ | NorthEast United 0 – 1 ATK Mohun Bagan
Carl McHugh gives away a free-kick in a really great area for NorthEast United, and Gallego is standing over it. Gallego appears to take a shot, and it’s a swerving, moving piledriver of a freekick, which is just about pushed over the crossbar by Arindam Bhattacharya. Nothing comes of the corner though.
35’ | NorthEast United 0 – 1 ATK Mohun Bagan
DAVID WILLIAMS TAKE A BOW! The Australian scores a gorgeous goal! After being slipped into play by Roy Krishna, he pulls off a delightful little fake at the edge of the penalty area which leaves a couple of NorthEast defenders seeing stars, before sending Subhasish Chowdhury the wrong way with his low finish. ATK Mohun Bagan are in front in this match, and you have to say, deservedly so!
32’ | NorthEast United 0 – 0 ATK Mohun Bagan
Aaah, Manvir was in there! It’s a gorgeous ball over the top from David Williams, and Manvir races down the left wing in pursuit, getting there ahead of Gurjinder Kumar. The angle is acute, but he fails to test the goalkeeper at all, blasting his attempt high and wide. It goes out for a goalkick and we begin a drinks break.
30’ | NorthEast United 0 – 0 ATK Mohun Bagan
Khalid Jamil is doing a bit of tinkering with his side, Luis Machado appears to have shifted to a more central role, with Suhair playing a slightly supporting role. Gallego meanwhile has dropped into the space immediately behind them, giving him the ability to pick his passes with more confidence.
25’ | NorthEast United 0 – 0 ATK Mohun Bagan
OH MY LORD, JUST HOW GOOD IS ROY KRISHNA! The ATK striker makes a chance out of absolutely nothing, flicking up a ricocheting ball, and then volleying it into the side netting with a leaping effort. He looks hungry tonight, a goal seems almost inevitable.
22’ | NorthEast United 0 – 0 ATK Mohun Bagan
ATK put together a gorgeous attack, with Roy Krishna, David Williams and Lenny Rodrigues all combining, before Manvir Singh is in an excellent position to put in a dangerous cross. His ball is driven low and hard, but luckily for NorthEast, it’s Lambot who gets to it first. ATK are getting closer and closer.
20’ | NorthEast United 0 – 0 ATK Mohun Bagan
Lambot makes an absolute mess of what should have been a routine first touch, and ATK’s talismanic striker Roy Krishna has a yard of space on the left wing. He races towards the touchline and then sends in a dangerous cross, which is dealt with by a pair of scrambling defenders. The chance leads to a NEUTD counterattack, and Ashutosh puts in a gorgeous cross, which flies just an inch or so over Luis Machado’s head.
17’ | NorthEast United 0 – 0 ATK Mohun Bagan
Marcelinho is giving Khassa Camara a real run for his money in terms of most ground covered tonight. The ATK midfielder has been everywhere so far, and he looks sharp as a razor.
14’ | NorthEast United 0 – 0 ATK Mohun Bagan
ATK Mohun Bagan have quickly grown into this match, and they’re working on stretching out the play as much as possible, drawing NorthEast’s defenders closer to the touchlines and then whipping in flat, dangerous-looking crosses. Their pressing has also improved significantly in the last five minutes or so, NEUTD are having real trouble in playing it out. They do manage to get a long ball out to Luis Machado on the left wing, but Pritam Kotal deals with the pressure quite comfortably.
10’ | NorthEast United 0 – 0 ATK Mohun Bagan
Manvir Singh has a speculative shot from 30 yards or so out, and it leads to the first corner of the night. The following minute or so looks nervy for NorthEast as ATK Mohun Bagan’s players whip in cross after cross, but the Highlanders manage to deal with the pressure, if with some unconvincing defending.
7’ | NorthEast United 0 – 0 ATK Mohun Bagan
So far it’s been a cautious start from both teams, with most of the game being played in the middle of the park. With the attacking ability that both sides have, that probably won’t be the case for much longer. It looked like NorthEast were in there! Khassa Camara played a gorgeous diagonal ball to Ashutosh Mehta, who can’t control it well enough to make anything out of it. NorthEast look to have marginally more control of the game at the moment.
2’ | NorthEast United 0 – 0 ATK Mohun Bagan
And we have lift-off in this first leg semi-final fixture! It’s the Mariners playing in all white tonight and the Highlanders will play in their red kit. We’re just minutes in and Khassa Camara has already made a couple of great tackles. He’s so crucial for NorthEast, there are few players better suited for breaking down opposition attacks and launching counters.
Will Roy Krishna get his name on the scoresheet again?
Here’s how NorthEast and ATK’s last meeting went!
Who are you backing in tonight’s match-up?
Welcome to our LIVE coverage of the first-leg second semi-final in the @IndSuperLeague between @NEUtdFC and @atkmohunbaganfc. Stay tuned as we bring you the team news in a moment. #NEUATKMB #ISL https://t.co/ihnVNAouAv pic.twitter.com/pvmSI3D8JX
— Firstpost Sports (@FirstpostSports) March 6, 2021
Here’s ATK’s Starting XI!
Arindam Bhattacharja (GK), Subhasish Bose, Pritam Kotal, Carl McHugh, Prabir Das, Javier Hernandez, Lenny Rodrigues, Manvir Singh, David Williams, Roy Krishna, Marcelo Pereira.
Federico Gallego starts for NorthEast United!
Subhasish Roy (GK), Ashutosh Mehta, Benjamin Lambot, Dylan Fox, Gurjinder Kumar, Nim Dorjee, Lalengmawia, Khassa Camara, Federico Gallego, Luis Machado, Suhair Vadakkepeedika
Hello and welcome to our coverage of the ISL playoffs!
NorthEast United FC will look to continue their fairy tale run when they take on ATK Mohun Bagan in the first leg of second semi-final of the Indian Super League on Saturday. Stay tuned as we bring you all the latest updates from what promises to be a thrilling contest!
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