ISL 2019: NorthEast United, Mumbai City FC play out exciting draw

On Wednesday, NorthEast United and Mumbai City FC played out an exciting 2-2 draw in an Indian Super League (ISL) clash at the Indira Gandhi Athletic Stadium in Guwahati. 

NorthEast got on the scoresheet first through Panagiotis Triadis (9') but Amine Chermiti scored a brace (23', 32') in a gap of 10 minutes to give Mumbai City the lead. Marquee signing Asamoah Gyan (42'), though, found the net just before the break to bring the action-packed first-half to a close. The second half, however, lacked the intensity and thus, the goal rush as the match ended in a draw.

Early on, it was the home team who were enjoying all the possession and soon, they made their dominance count. Triadis, the Greek winger, won the ball just outside the opposition box, took a few touches to create some room before sending the ball into the net past a hapless Amrinder Singh.

Mumbai, with their penchant for fast attacking play, were not one to sit back. They started mounting the pressure on the Highlanders and managed to restore parity within 13 minutes of conceding. Amine Chermiti, the Tunisian forward, was fed with a simple ball by fellow striker Modou Sougou. All Chermiti had to do was tuck it in to make it 1-1.

10 minutes later, he would go on to double his tally with a superb acrobatic effort, a bicycle kick to be precise, to give his team the lead. A poorly defended freekick saw the ball pop up to Chermiti who did not make any mistake in finding the back of the net.

Just when it looked like the visitors would go into the break with the slender lead, Gyan, scorer of many a wonder goals through his illustrative career, took matters into his own hands (or feet). The Ghanaian forward unleashed a thunderous strike, leaving Amrinder stranded, to make it 2-2.

The second half saw few chances being created though Chermiti tried yet another bicycle kick, which went wide. Eventually, the two teams had to settle for a draw.