The second phase of the Indian Super League (ISL) season seven will kick off on January 12 with NorthEast United taking on Bengaluru FC at the Tilak Maidan in Vasco, Goa.
The entire tournament is being held behind closed doors in Goa, due to the Covid-19 pandemic which means the teams will have to stay in a bio-bubble for the duration of the tournament.
In this thread, we will be covering 5 fixtures of Game Week 12 from 12th to 16th January 2021.
NorthEast United haven’t won any of their last six games, and this season is slowly developing into an all-too-familiar story for the Highlanders. Gerard Nus has to turn things around for his side, and will look to begin the recovery against the struggling Bengaluru FC team.
Bengaluru, on the other hand, have lost each of their last four games. Their last match, which they lost 1-0 to SC East Bengal, was the first one under interim coach Naushad Moosa. The latter has taken over from Carles Cuadrat, who was relieved off his duties.
Bengaluru have beaten the Highlanders five times in the nine ISL meetings between the two teams so far. NorthEast United beat the Blues only once, which happened in the first leg of the semifinals in the 2018-19 season. The rest of the three games ended in a draw.
NorhtEast United form guide: L-L-D-L-D
Bengaluru FC form guide: L-L-L-L-W
Gerard Nus has a plan’ - NorthEast United focused on form revival as Bengaluru FC come calling
NorthEast United are currently on a six-match winless run and have won just once in the last nine games in the ongoing Indian Super League (ISL) season.
Having faced back-back defeats against ATK Mohun Bagan (2-0) and Hyderabad FC (4-2), they face Bengaluru FC on Tuesday in an attempt to recover their dip in form. Bengaluru FC are also coming on the back of a poor run of form, having lost four ISL games in a row for the first time in their history.
However, NorthEast assistant coach Alison Kharsyntiew is not taking anything for granted. He said, "First of all, we know that Bengaluru have lost four games in a four but every game is new and we have to respect them. I’m sure that the players will give their best tomorrow. Whatever the outcome, we know our duty. We have to forget the last match, focus on the next match and put in 100 percent to win.
“We have a simple approach. If we lose the ball, we try to win it back. If we have the ball, we have to create chances and score,” he professed.
“Our coach (Gerard Nus) has a plan. There are always negative and positives. The main thing is to improve on the negative points and strengthen our positive points. Tomorrow is our first game of the second half of the season and I’m sure that the players can give a good performance tomorrow,” the former Shillong Lajong coach stated.
We were better in the second half against East Bengal’ - Naushad Moosa confident Bengaluru will be even better against NorthEast United
Bengaluru FC will head into their next match in the Indian Super League (ISL) against NorthEast United on Tuesday, looking to end their run of four successive defeats.
Moosa agreed that the team is going through a rough patch but he believes that his troops will fight back against the Highlanders.
“It’s been a difficult time for everyone. It is not easy. We are working on it. We just got two days to prepare and then just a couple of days. But we cannot sit back and say this. They are motivated. We were better in the second half against East Bengal. Hope to play better against NorthEast,” stated the manager.
I have been watching NorthEast. They are not a bad team. We had a 2-2 draw last time. We cannot be relaxed. The players are aware of the roles and responsibilities. We have 10 games in hand, and maybe the match against Northeast will initiate a better start (for the rest of the tournament).
“We created a lot of scoring opportunities. We didn’t convert. We have been working on that. We are trying to hit the target. East Bengal dominated in the first half. We need to be more compact. The players were told what the coach wants and the second half was much better.”
match winless run for NEUFC
match losing streak for Bengaluru FC
Can either team break the jinx tonight?
The last time these two sides met, Bengaluru FC won 19 fouls, the most fouls they won against any team in this ISL. Northeast United were booked for six yellow card offences, the most times they have been booked in an ISL game in this season. Gruelling.
Bengaluru FC and NorthEast United FC share spoil as the match ends in a 1-1 draw.
NEUFC took the lead in the match through Luis Machado as he slotted home from close range. The Highlanders could have scored more but they failed to convert their chances, as they went into the break with a one-goal lead.
After the break, Bengaluru took just four minutes to equalise as Rahul Bheke scored from just outside the box. The goal spurred Bengaluru as they kept on testing the NEUFC custodian, however, they failed to make the most of the opportunities they got. As a result, the match ended 1-1 and Bengaluru snapped their losing streak.
For his all-action performance 
“To tell you the truth, I am not happy. We could have done better. Both the goals were gifted. The way we played was much better than the last game. Again, every point counts now. I am still happy with the draw but we could have done much better.”
NorthEast United FC and Bengaluru FC fought out a 1-1 draw in tonight’s contest at the Tilak Maidan Stadium. Both teams came out aggressive and went at each other from the get-go. 27 minutes in, Luis Machado placed in the sole goal of the first half and NorthEast United FC went into the break with their noses in front. The second half kicked off with Rahul Bheke smacking in a shot from outside the box that escaped Gurmeet Singh’s grasp. That was all it took to keep the scores levelled at full-time.
Highlights - NorthEast United FC 1-1 Bengaluru FC - Match 56
Post-match Presentation - NorthEast United FC 1-1 Bengaluru FC - Match 56
Bengaluru FC have registered their best passing accuracy in matches against Northeast United this Indian Super League season, during today’s match it was 81.2% and on the previous leg it was 85.6%. Precision.
NorthEast United part ways with head coach Gerard Nus
NorthEast United have sacked their Spanish head coach Gerard Nus after just 11 matches in the 2020-21 Indian Super League (ISL) season. Khalid Jamil has been appointed as the interim coach and he is already in quarantine in Goa.
The club made the announcement just hours after their 1-1 draw against Bengaluru on Tuesday, a result that extended the club’s winless run to seven matches.
The statement from the club read, "NorthEast United Football Club announces with immediate effect the departure of head coach Gerard Nus. The club has decided to part ways with the Spanish National after taking into consideration a contrast in the team’s current tactics and the club’s philosophy and vision.
"The club would like to thank Mr Nus for his hard work and commitment during his time at NorthEast United and wish him the best for all his future endeavours.
“Khalid Jamil has been appointed as the new interim head coach for the remainder of the current season.”
This one point should really help us’ - Naushad Moosa draws positives from Bengaluru’s draw against NorthEast United
Bengaluru came from behind to get a point against NorthEast United in an Indian Super League (ISL) clash on Tuesday at the Tilak Maidan.
The Blues, who were on a four-match losing streak, finally secured a point and coach Naushad Moosa felt that the team will draw positives from the result against the Highlanders.
“This one point should really help us. We should take all the positives from the point we got. It was not easy. We gave away an easy goal and we created a lot of opportunities. From here I have to keep my players motivated so that they don’t feel low. We have to work on our mistakes. Today we were more compact. We have to now analyse this match and work hard for the match against Kerala Blasters,” said the interim Blues coach.
One point is good enough against Bengaluru’ - NorthEast United’s Alison Kharsyntiew satisfied with the stalemate against the Blues
Kharsyntiew mentioned that the team’s target was to register a win but against a team like Bengaluru, they are happy to walk out with at least a point.
“The objective was to get three points but to play against Bengaluru is not easy. So one point is good enough for us and this will keep the positive energy in the team and give us the confidence to carry on in the next game.”
We could’ve beaten ATK Mohun Bagan and Bengaluru FC’ - Stuart Baxter calls for consistency from Odisha FC
While Odisha put in their best performance in a 4-2 win over Kerala Blasters just before their goalless draw against Chennaiyin, Baxter feels that his team have been performing well without reward in most of their games so far.
“If I look at the ATK [Mohun Bagan] performance (1-0 loss), I think we could have easily won that game. So I don’t see, just because we (recently) got a win, that our performance has got a huge step forward. When we played Bengaluru (2-1 loss), we were very close to beating them. The same with NorthEast [United] (2-2 draw). The performances against Mumbai [City] (2-0 loss) and Goa (1-0 loss) were substandard but apart from that, I think we have shown in every game that we have been competitive,” he claimed.
Baxter wants to see consistency from his side now that they have a good couple of results.
“I don’t think we can expect changes based on what we have had in the past. You can base the changes on how we can progress the team. We weren’t satisfied with the results but in many games we have shown that we have been better than what the result showed. So finding some consistency and identity is probably the best way to stabilise our results,” the former South Africa national team coach concluded.
