NUFC strike late to hold Delhi

Sabrosa's goal cancels out Gadze's effort for Dynamos

Marquee player Simao Sabrosa salvaged a point for NorthEast United after he scored within seconds of taking the field against Delhi Dynamos during their Indian Super League clash here on Tuesday.

Delhi Dynamos were leading by a solitary first half goal scored by Richard Gadze (37th minute) and looked like they would open a two-point lead at the top of the table. But Sabrosa had other ideas when he appeared as a substitute and scored a stunning free kick to help NorthEast United hold Delhi Dynamos 1-1.

Delhi Dynamos now have the same number of points as FC Pune City (13 points) but are placed second with an inferior goal difference. NorthEast United are placed seventh with seven points from as many matches.

There was drama when the former Barcelona and Portuguese winger took the field in the 72nd minute as NorthEast initially believed they had won a penalty when Diomansy Kamara fell down inside the box after contact with Hans Mulder. But the referee consulted his assistant and adjudged that the offence had occurred outside the box.

During the commotion, NorthEast United coach Cesar Farias replaced Silas with Sabrosa and the marquee player stunned everyone with his free kick as he calmly stepped back and curled the ball from inches outside the box straight into the top corner of the net for the equaliser.

NorthEast United had started brightly and created two good chances inside the first 10 minutes. Sanju Pradhan’s corner-kick in the eighth minute saw Kamara’s header hit the crossbar and bounce out of play and two minutes later Raju Yumnam’s ball was cleared hastily inside the goalmouth and Seityasen Singh’s resultant header missed the target narrowly.

Just after the half hour mark, NorthEast came close again but this time goalkeeper Toni Doblas came up with two fine attempts to deny Sanju Pradhan and Francis Dadzie.

Delhi Dynamos surged ahead in the 37th minute after Florent Malouda had done exceptionally well to slice the rival defence with a through pass that Gadze intercepted well and then beat goalkeeper TP Rehenesh for the opening goal.

In the second session, the crossbar denied NorthEast another goal as a free-kick from Silas hit the top of the crossbar. Amazingly, another attempt from Dadzie struck the woodwork in the 61st minute. Earlier, a power failure delayed the start of the tie by 20 minutes.