ISL 2020-21 Summary, Odisha FC vs NorthEast United FC Latest Updates: Odisha FC and NorthEast United FC share the spoils when the disputed match ends in a 2-2 draw. The Kalinga Warriors took the lead in the 23rd minute after Deigo Mauricio fired on a shot from the edge of the box. NorthEast lagged behind for around 22 minutes as a Benjamin Lambot header put them on equal footing in the closing moments of the first half. The second half started with the same intensity and NEUFC took more initiative and their efforts paid off as they took the lead in the match in the 65th minute after Kwesi Appiah successfully converted the penalty kick. However, his lead was held for just a couple of minutes when OFC’s Cole Alexander curved in a wonderful shot from the edge of the area to make the game 2-2. Both teams had a chance to get the winner, but they were not clinical in the last third. With this result, OFC remains winless and at the bottom of the table, while NEUFC remains in its fourth place.
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Odisha will need to find a way soon, having fought on both offense and defense. They have thrown in nine goals, the second-worst tally in the league, and have a tendency to concede first: Seven of the goals scored against them came in the first half. In attack, Stuart Baxter’s men have scored the fewest goals overall (3) and created the fewest chances (42).
Odisha will have to make sure he doesn’t lose momentum again in the first half by conceding first. To do that, they will have to strictly control strikers Idrissa Sylla and Kwesi Appiah, who lead NorthEast’s scoring chart with two goals each. The NorthEast team has quite a few players who are fast. They play backwards quickly and get the ball to their forwards, so we defend as a team, “Baxter said on the eve of the game.
“Whatever solutions we are planning, they will be as a team, they will not be based on one individual marking a man up close. It will be about supporting each other and making sure we push them into the spaces where we can manage them,” he added.
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The Highlanders have similar concerns, as four of their six conceded goals have come in the first half and their attacking threat has started to wear off as well. They haven’t been able to score in their previous two games despite creating many opportunities.
NorthEast coach Gerard Nus said his team will launch an all-out attack when they hit the field. “I agree (the loss has made us hungrier to bounce back). It’s an opportunity for all of us to come together and stick together,” Nus said. “Tomorrow (Tuesday) we are going to be an offensive team, we are going to go for the three points and show it to everyone,” he added.
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