Guwahati: Egged on by a vociferous home crowd, North East United FC (NEUFC) kick-started their ISL-3 campaign on a winning note with a 1-0 victory over Kerala Blasters here Saturday at the Indira Gandhi International Stadium.
After a barren first session where NEUFC dominated for long spells, Katsumi Yusa scored all-important goal in the 54th minute.
NEUFC were determined to get a positive result from the tournament opener and fielded an attacking line-up with Nicolas Velez, Holicharan Narzary and Emiliano Alfaro in attacking positions.
Kerala, on the other hand, were content in soaking up the pressure which they did well in the first 45 minutes but succumbed to NEUFC’s might in the second session.
After a barren first half in which the home side wasted a couple of good scoring opportunities, NEUFC finally tasted success in the early in the second session. Velez moved down the left flank and essayed a cross which the Kerala defenders missed and Katsumi was only too happy to speed forward and tap it into the goal.
In the first session a free-kick saw Velez out-jump his marker and head towards goal but Kerala custodian Graham Stack saved the effort.
Kerala Basters tried hard to find the equaliser and came close just after the hour mark. Sandesh Jhingan’s cross sailed unintentionally towards goal and Subrata Paul dived to keep the ball away from danger. From the corner kick, Subrata left his charge needlessly and got stranded but Antonio German’s strike from close range missed the target by a whisker.
Press Trust of India
