NorthEast United FC delivered a sensational performance in front of their home crowd, claiming a resounding 5-0 victory against Jamshedpur FC in the Indian Super League in Guwahati on Saturday.
This victory marks the Highlanders' biggest win in ISL history and their first time scoring five goals in a single match.
The match kicked off with NorthEast establishing dominance early on, taking the lead just five minutes in through Alaaeddine Ajaraie
After a simple setup from Buanthanglun Samte on the left flank, Ajaraie unleashed a stunning long-range effort that sailed into the top right corner, sending the home fans into a frenzy.
Two minutes later, Mohammed Bemammer found Ajaraie again, allowing him to double the lead.
The match took a decisive turn in the 29th minute when Jamshedpur's defender Stephen Eze received a second yellow card, reducing the Red Miners to ten men.
From that point forward, NorthEast maintained a firm grip on the game.
Rising star Parthib Gogoi made headlines with a brace, reaching 10 ISL goals—the most by any player before turning 22.
His first came in the 44th minute, when he deftly converted Ajaraie's square pass into the bottom right corner.
Just 10 minutes into the second half, Jithin MS provided another assist, and Gogoi capitalised, placing his shot into the top left corner to extend the lead to three.
The Highlanders kept pressing for more. Substitute Macarton Nickson added to the scoreline in the 82nd minute, firing a powerful shot from the edge of the box into the top right corner, assisted by Hamza Regragui.
Ajaraie capped off a remarkable night with his second goal in the 90th minute, finishing a quick counter-attack initiated by Michel Zabaco.
Paulista scores twice as Hyderabad FC beat Mohammedan SC 4-0
Allan Paulista scored a brilliant brace while Stefan Sapic and Parag Shrivas also joined the goal-scoring bonanza as Hyderabad FC thrashed Mohammedan SC 4-0 to register their first win of the Indian Super League season here on Saturday.
Brazilian Paulista (4th, 15th) capitalized on Padam Chettri's mistake to hand the visitors an early lead in the fourth minute. The striker was lurking in the penalty area when Padam failed to clear his lines following a pass from Florent Ogier. Paulista saw the opportunity and tucked it past the goalkeeper.
Hyderabad FC piled more pressure on the opponent's backline and were rewarded in the 12th minute when Stefan Sapic rose to head home the second goal from a Cy Goddard corner at the Kishore Bharati Krirangan.
Hyderabad FC kept up the pressure as the hosts were unable to match their intensity and left acres of space in the midfield. Three minutes after the second goal, Paulista added another to his tally after Parag Shrivas found the Brazilian unmarked in the final third. The 25-year-old hammered the ball home, beating Padam all ends up.
Hyderabad FC scripted history as they raced to a 3-0 lead in just 14 minutes and 38 seconds which is the second-fastest in ISL history.
The winners could have extended their lead when Andrei Alba found himself in space right at the edge of the penalty area. But the Brazilian scuffed his shot wide. In the first half, Mohammedan SC were slow to react to second balls and left plenty of space while defending and lacked that spark in attack.
Despite enjoying a lot of possessions they went into the break trailing 0-3.
The second half saw Mohammedan SC bring in Cesar Manzoki, Mohammed Irshad and Makan Chothe to solidify all three departments. But despite the changes, the visitors added another goal to their scoresheet in the 51st minute when Parag Shrivas combined with Alba to produce a long-ranger.
The young defender swerved the ball straight into the top right corner, leaving Padam and Mohammedan SC backline bamboozled.
In the last 20 minutes, Mohammedan SC threw bodies forward in search of elusive goals but it was just not their night as Hyderabad FC registered their second clean sheet and first win of the season.