ISL 2018-19: Delhi Dynamos vs NorthEast United FC- 5 Talking Points
Delhi Dynamos hosted NorthEast United FC in Delhi for their round five Indian Super League match. Delhi has had the worst ISL start in their ISL history after failing to win even a single game after four games. Their opponents NorthEast United FC have their best start to the season in ISL history. NorthEast came into the game being unbeaten in the ISL, and they wanted to remain unbeaten for as long as possible.
The match started with both the teams trying to get an early goal, but NorthEast United FC quickly took charge of the game and dominated most parts of the first. They hit the crossbar once and forced Delhi to make two goal-line clearances. Delhi had a few chances to take the lead too. The first half ended with the scoreboard reading nil-nil.
The second half started with Delhi trying to get back into the game, and they did have few chances, but NorthEast finally broke the deadlock in the 82nd minute through a Gallego striker. French-Nigerian striker Barth Ogbeche made it 2-0 in the 93rd minute to seal the victory for NorthEast United FC and take them top of the league table.
On that note, let's take a look at the five talking points from today's game
#5 Referee robs NorthEast off a penalty, poor refereeing in general
Bart Ogbeche ran into the box from a Reagan Singh long ball, beat Crispi easily but was bought down clearly by Crispi with a full body tackle but the referee waved play on. The commentators, players, team officials, and fans were all surprised by the decision dished out by the referee. It was probably the easiest decision the referee the had to make all evening, and still, the referee managed to make the wrong choice.
If one is to judge the decisions made by the referee in today's game, the referee would be on the receiving end of an abysmal score.
During the first half, it looked like the referee had forgotten his cards in the dressing room.
Delhi on the hand other can argue that a fair share of fifty-fifty decisions went against them.
Given the nature of the game and league, a few poor referee decisions going against any team can decide the fate of the match and also go a long way in determining where the team finishes at the end of the league.
If a league like ISL wants to improve the quality of football in India, then they need to take notice of the referee errors and try to minimalise the human errors.