Simao scores with his first touch after Gadze puts Dynamos ahead

Two teams desperate to win ended up splitting points as NorthEast United FC (NEUFC) drew 1-1 with Delhi Dynamos at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium here on Tuesday.
It was an impressive performance from the visitors who recovered from the 5-1 thrashing at Mumbai in their last match even as Delhi would be ruing its missed chances and the opportunity to go to the top of the table. The draw kept Dynamos in the second spot behind Pune City FC, level on points (13) but trailing in goal difference.
Richard Gadze put the hosts ahead but Portuguese Simao, coming off the bench in the 72nd minute, struck the equaliser with his first touch to the ball.
With the match starting half-an-hour behind schedule owing to a power failure and played under back-up lights, it was always going to be a tough outing for Delhi. Captain-manager Roberto Carlos had warned his team not to be complacent and NEUFC proved that straightaway.
Taking the attack to the opposition, Francis Dadzie, Diomansy Kamara and Sanju — three of the five players who came into the team after missing the Mumbai match — were on the go from the start but failed to find the breakthrough.
In fact, for the first 20 minutes, NEUFC virtually camped in the Dynamos half, the host hardly getting a look-in.
But, with John Arne Riise and Anas Edothedika marshalling the defence and Toni Doblas coming good under the bar, Delhi kept the visitors at bay.
A free-kick in the 15th minute was the closest Delhi came to scoring, but Carlos’s weak, grounded shot could not get past the wall. Gadze hit straight to NEUFC goalkeeper Rehenesh seven minutes later as the host, after the initial pressure, gradually began pushing back.
Doblas was again in the spotlight when he blocked two consecutive shots in the 35th minute — Sanju hit from close to the half-line and a rare defensive lapse saw the rebound fall to Dadzie, who again hit to the ’keeper — while a third shot from Kamara went wide to the left, much to Dynamos’ relief.
Quick on the counter, Florent Malouda picked up the ball and threaded it through to Gadze, who shot past an out-rushing Rehenesh to put Dynamos ahead in the 37th minute. Encouraged by the lead, the side began strongly in the second half and a pile-driver from Riise in the 50th minute off a free kick — after Robin Singh was pushed down by Carlos Lopez — saw the ball race through the wall but Rehenesh managed to hang on to it.
NEUFC did not let up, though, and the number of corners and shots at goal it managed was proof of its desperation to score.
That’s when Kamara, beating a couple of Delhi defenders, was pushed by Hans Mulder just outside the box.
The referee pointed to the spot before awarding a free kick after a discussion with the linesman. Simao, having come on for Silas just then, marked his presence with a curling shot that gave Doblas no chance.
The teams continued to search for the winner but with the defence pulling down the shutters a draw was the only possible result.
The result: Delhi Dynamos 1 (Gadze 37) drew with NEUFC 1 (Simao 72).