Day 5, Match 5, First RED!

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Round two began at the Indira Gandhi Stadium, Guwahati, where winners of round one fought for another three points. This time the home team was North East United FC and the guests were Atletico de Kolkata. The young team of Ricki Herbert lost 0-2 to the experienced squad of Antonio Lopez Habas but collected sumptuous experience.

For the first half, Alex Tzorvas successfully recreated his Greek wall but continuous attacks from Garcia wounded it. Garcia made a big mistake by taking a straight shot within the penalty box that placed the ball directly into Alex's hands. That could have been a crucial point in the starting minutes had he taken a right or a left shot. Garcia was a visionary in assisting Fikru's second ISL goal (15th min) that he hammered using his height and later broke into acrobatics. Kolkata paraded a built-up play using triangle and diamond formations.

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Herbert used a 4-4-2 formation, man-marking Garcia against Habas' 4-2-3-1. The biggest fault in former's technique was that he forgot to mark Fikru. Chansa's tackle of Garcia was a desperate attempt and showed Herbert's fear of the Spaniard. Keene failed to repeat the form that he had against Kerala Blasters.

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After the break, Fernandez quickly picked up a yellow card. Kolkata's right flank looked active. Pody substituted Jofre and Garcia made way for Arnal, giving Captain's armband to fellow Spaniard, Fernandez. After Koke's offside attempt, Herbert quickly switched Chansa for Josl and Koke for Do. After a failed corner kick, Keene was also replaced by Bertos. A delayed decision but referee gave Fernandez ISL's first red card, reducing the team to 10. North East United's owner John Abraham looked rather pleased with the decision. Soon Sahni was also swapped for Pradhan. Podany once again proved to be a super sub with his 90th minute goal ensuring their victory.

This was a dramatic game with a lot of puling and pushing. There was Franco vs Josl and Garcia vs North East United. Many players played in different positions. Goenka was used as a right back and Mondal played Centre Back. Absence of Miguel because of an injury proved to be a disadvantage for NEUFC. The physicality standards are rising with every game played One thing that occurred repeatedly was delayed decisions by the referees.

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Our player of the match is Sergio Contreras Pardo, aka Koke. The Spanish forward played as an attacking midfielder managing the entire team. He proved to be a playmaker. He was the link in Herbert's formation. He displayed great ball control and attacking abilities.