Struggling Odisha square off against fourth-placed Northeast in the Tuesday encounter of the Indian Football League 2020-21. Odisha are sitting at the bottom with just one point, while Northeast managed to retain the fourth spot after the first loss of the season.
Match Timings: Dec 22, 7:30 PM IST
Team Preview
Northeast would face Odisha on Tuesday night to tight its position in the top four. The Highlanders suffered its first defeat last week, and they lost the opportunity to take the second spot. Jamshedpur dominated them in the first half and created early chances. Both teams failed to score a goal going into the second half. In the 53rd minute, Aniket Jadhav provided the lead for the Red Miners. A few minutes later, Stephen Eze brought down Benjamin Lambot, and Highlanders were awarded a penalty. TP Rehenesh delivered a super save to stop Idrissa Sylla to score an equaliser. Jamshedpur held Northeast’s attack in the final minutes of the game, and Peter Hartley led the defense to avoid any blow.
Northeast’s season has relied on its strong midfield, and in the previous match, they failed to keep the ball, and with weak possession, they lost all the opportunities. Gurjinder Singh and Benjamin Lambot tried long passes, and Northeast midfielders showed too much dependency on Idrissa Sylla and Kwesi Appiah. Jamshedpur defenders easily tackled these passes. Highlanders also lacked in passing accuracy. Gerard Nus’ men need one good win here to get the confidence back, and they can hold its position in the points table.
Meanwhile, Odisha are having a disappointing season so far with five defeats out of six matches, and with one point, they stand at the bottom of the table. East Bengal shared the points with Kerala on Sunday to go one point ahead of them. Kalinga Warriors lost to Bengaluru in a previous encounter at the GMC Bambolim Stadium.
In the early first-half, Odisha should have taken a 1-0 lead when Manu Onwu sent the ball past Gurpreet Singh Sandhu, but the assistant referee raised his flag for off-side. Bengaluru also got an opportunity in the 21st minute, but they recovered it through Sunil Chhetri’s third goal of the season. In the second half, Odisha troubled the Blues, and the pressure worked out as captain Steven Taylor scored the equaliser on a free-kick. Odisha had good control in the game, but they conceded the winner as substitutes Udanta Singh, and Deshorn Brown set up Cleiton Silva for a goal. Odisha called Marcelinho in the last 15 minutes, but they didn’t find an equaliser.
Vinit Rai had a good outing last week, and Odisha would expect him to carry this performance in next matches. Steven Taylor might be proud of himself after the last week’s performance. He scored the only goal for Odisha, and with the tight defense, he stopped Bengaluru to score in the second half. Odisha faced Northeast four times in Indian Football League, and two times, Highlanders had the last laugh. Odisha have defeated Northeast in its most recent outing 2-1, courtesy of Martin Perez’s strike.
Possible Lineups & Current Form
Odisha
Arshdeep Singh, Shubham Sarangi, Steven Taylor, Jacob Tratt, Hendry Antonay, Vinit Rai, Cole Alexander, Gaurav Bora, Jerry Mawihmingthanga, Manuel Onwu, Diego Mauricio
Current Form: L L L L D
Previous Match: 2-1 loss against Bengaluru
Northeast
Gurmeet, Ashutosh Mehta, Dylan Fox, Benjamin Lambot, Gurjinder Kumar, Khassa Camara, Lalengmawia, Ninthoinganba Meetei, Rochharzela, Kwesi Appiah Idrissa Sylla
Current Form: L D D W D
Previous Match: 1-0 loss to Jamshedpur
Key Players
Odisha
Diego Mauricio
2 goals in Indian Football League 2020-21
Steven Taylor
1 goal & 5 tackles in Indian Football League 2020-21
Northeast
Kwesi Appiah
2 goal in Indian Football League 2020-21
Rochharzela
2 goals in Indian Football League 2020-21
