Saransh Jain and Emaad Jameel team up to power NorthEast United to eISL Season 2 title
NorthEast United FC's Saransh Jain and Emaad Jameel have emerged victorious in the second season of the eISL after defeating Sagnik Banerjee and Charanjot Singh from Bengaluru FC by a score of 2-1 in the finals.
BFC started strong by winning Game 1 by a dominant margin of 4-1. They looked set to clean sweep the NEUFC duo in Game 2. However, that encounter ended goalless and was then followed by a marathon penalty shootout.
The Highlanders' Emaad and Saransh held their nerves to overcome the stiff challenge by edging the shootout 8-7 and leveling the game at 1-1 before entering the decisive and final Game 3.
It was a riveting, end-to-end contest that saw the scores tied at 2-2 right until NorthEast managed to sneak a goal past the Blues. They held on to that slender lead right until the end to take home the eISL trophy courtesy of a 2-1 victory.
NorthEast United FC and Bengaluru FC's eISL Season 2 roundup
NorthEast were the standout performers this season, and that was reflected in their performances prior to the showpiece game on Sunday. Emaad and Saransh had rolled over their counterparts from Kerala Blasters by an aggregate of 4-1 across two legs in the semi-finals.
The Highlanders had whitewashed the first leg by winning 3-0 and then managed to sneak in another 2-1 win in Game 2 of the second leg to gain an unassailable 4-1 lead that paved their way to the finals of this competition.
Sagnik and Charanjot from Bengaluru also battled intense competition from FC Goa in their semi-final faceoff. Both legs of their final four clash had gone down to the wire, with the Blues securing a 2-1 victory each time to proceed to the finals by a margin of 4-2 eventually.
Prior to their semi-final, the boys from Bengaluru came from behind to prevail over Hyderabad FC in Knockout Match 1. Not only did they win the last two games after losing their first, but they also made a late comeback in their final match after trailing 1-0 for the majority of the match.
FC Goa's Vanshaj Sharma wins MVP award
Vanshaj Sharma enjoyed a stellar couple of months with FC Goa. He scored 33 goals in the league stage, which helped him win the coveted MVP award. One of the five retained players ahead of season 2, Vanshaj went unbeaten in the league stage with the Gaurs.
Emaad finished runner-up as far as the MVP race is concerned, having scored 32 goals in ten league matches. Charanjot slotted in 30 goals to wrap up the top three standings for the MVP of eISL Season 2.