- NorthEast United FC – 1 (S. Ajaraie 24’)
- Punjab FC – 1 (K. Lhungdim 82’)
Guwahati, January 10, 2024: Khaimingthang Lhungdim scored the equaliser and was sent off in injury time as ten men Punjab FC held NorthEast United to a 1-1 draw in the Indian Super League encounter which was played here at the Indira Gandhi Athletic Stadium. Alaaeddine Ajaraie gave the lead for the Highlanders in the first half. Punjab with their first draw of the season, remained in eighth with 19 points while NorthEast are in fifth with 23 points.
Luka Majcen, Pulga Vidal and Ivan Novoselec returned to the starting eleven as Panagiotis Dilmperis made four changes to the starting line-up. Leon Augustine started in place of Nihal Sudeesh while Muheet Shabir kept his place in goal. The youngster ISL starter, Pramveer kept his place in the centre of defence as Tekcham Abhishek Singh missed out. On the other hand, Juan Pedro Benali named his strongest eleven with Alaaeddine Ajaraie leading the attack along with Jithin M.S and Guillermo Fernandez.
Punjab did not allow NorthEast United wingers Jithin and Ajaraie any space to create meaningful chances by executing the five-man defence plan well. Ricky Shabong and Nikhil Prabhu looked the livelier centre midfield pairing breaking down moves and starting counter attacks.
A mistake by goalkeeper Muheet Shabir gave Northeast the lead in the 24th minute. Macarton Luis long range effort from 30 yards was spilled by the keeper and Ajaraie pounced on it to score.
Punjab did increase the pressure on the opposition after conceding but were unable to test Gurmeet in the Highlanders goal as NorthEast went into the half with a solitary goal lead.
Punjab FC Coach made three changes at the start of the second half, bringing on Filip Mrzljak, Nihal Sudeesh and Suresh Meitei. The Shers, now playing in a changed 4-2-3-1 system showed more vigour to find the equalizer.
Filip’s clever touch sent Luka Majcen free on goal but the striker’s toe poke towards goal was saved well by the rushing Gurmeet Singh. Punjab kept pushing, putting the home side defence under pressure, but the final output was missing. At the other end NorthEast were content to play on the counter attacks.
Punjab’s persistence finally paid off as they equalised from a sweeping move. Substitute Muhammad Suhail sent in a low cross after a flashy run. Gurmeet punched away the first danger, but the rebound was rifled on the bottom right corner by right back Khaimingthang Lhungdim.
Things got heated up in the final minutes of the match. Punjab FC gaffer, Pangiotis Dilmperis was sent off to the stands by the referee and in injury time goal scorer Khaimingthang Lhungdim was sent off for receiving his second yellow card offence. After an exciting 90 minutes, both teams were satisfied with one point each at the end of the final whistle.
Punjab FC will be back at home at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium for their next fixture against Mumbai City FC on January 16th.
