ISL 2022-23: Alan Costa's late header seals full points for Bengaluru FC against NorthEast United

Faheem Hussain/Focus Sports/ISL

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Bengaluru FC nicked a late win against Northeast United for the second time this season, as they came away with a 2-1 success at the Indira Gandhi Athletic Stadium in Guwahati on Friday.

Brazilian defender Alan Costa was the hero for Bengaluru against NorthEast once again, as he scored another header - just as he did in both sides' opening game of the season - to seal all three points on the road for the Blues.

The match had a tight first half, with both teams creating just one clear-cut chance each. Wilmar Jordan had the best chance for NorthEast United FC in the 9th minute. He was clean through on goal and went for a low curled finish, but Gurpreet Singh Sandhu got down quickly to deny him after he hit his shot into the floor.

Sunil Chhetri was on the bench for Bengaluru FC, with Roy Krishna leading the line alongside Sivasakthi Narayanan. Krishna couldn't get involved in the game for most of the first half, managing only had 18 touches in 45 minutes.

The one time they did find him, he played a gorgeous outside-of-the-boot pass into the path of Sivasakthi. The youngster's effort wasn't a bad one, but Mirshad Michu was alert to the danger, made himself big, and denied the Bengaluru forward.

Bengaluru FC were rewarded in the 50th minute. Parag Shrivas set up Sivasakthi on the left flank after driving forward, and he expertly poked the ball over Mirshad and into the top corner from the edge of the box to give Bengaluru the lead.

NorthEast FC were struggling to get a foothold in the second-half, but had a decent stretch from the 62nd minute to the 65th minute. This stretch was enough for them to open their account for the evening. They were awarded a free-kick just outside the box, and Romain Philippoteaux beat Gurpreet in the 66th minute. The Frenchman deceived the Bengaluru wall and 'keeper by going for a low shot across the goal.

Chhetri, who came on as a substitute, came very close to scoring a diving header in the 82nd minute after Udanta Singh, another substitute, played a delightful cross from the right wing - but Mirshad made a crucial close-range save to keep NorthEast in it.

Bengaluru, though, kept knocking on the door and got their winner four minutes into stoppage time. Udanta found space on the right wing, and played a perfectly lofted pass into the path of central defender Costa who powered his header home to give Bengaluru their fourth win of the season.