Had faith we would be back to winning ways: Jackichand Singh

With FC Goa passing the ball around, NorthEast United FC (NEUFC) sat back absorbing the FC Goa pressure. The onslaught was relentless but the final touch was lacking - eventually leading to a sense of frustration creeping in amongst the FC Goa faithful in the stands.

An hour into the game there were doubts starting to creep in.

That sense of dullness and all those doubts, though, were lifted in the 68th minute as FC Goa scored the opener, thanks to Mislav Komorski, who turned a dangerous cross from Goa's midfielder Jackichand Singh on the right into his own goal on Wednesday.

Not the way that most fans had envisaged it to be, but it was one that many might believe was deserved based on the attacking impetus of the Gaurs.

As thousands jumped up in delirium, another man who found a sense of fulfilment was Jackichand Singh.

"This was an important goal for us. And me, personally, I was just overjoyed," stated the winger from Manipur.

"I was personally not pleased with my performance in the last game and I really wanted to make a mark in this one. I had a chip on my shoulder tonight. It was a bitter pill to take (the loss against Bengaluru), but we had faith in our abilities that we will be back to winning ways. Overall we created a lot of opportunities in that game (vs. Bengaluru). It was a matter of making the most of those opportunities. Tonight we were able to do that," he added.

The assist, the Manipuri's third of the season, helped the Gaurs eventually seal a 2-0 win over the resilient Highlanders and climb back to the top of the table.

( With inputs from IANS )