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[caption id="attachment_29456" align="aligncenter" width="580"] NorthEast United players celebrating after their win against Delhi Dynamos. Image Source: XtraTime[/caption] Internet Desk: NorthEast United FC came up with a spirited performance to beat Delhi Dynamos FC 2-1 in front of more than 21,000 spectators at Guwahati and keep their semis hopes alive. Seityasen Singh scored in the 60th minute for the hosts while Romaric doubled their lead in the 71st minute. Marcelinho halved Delhi’s deficit in the 93rd minute. The first chance of the game came Delhi’s way as early as the third minute when Florent Malouda’s clever through-ball found Richard Gadze , who with only the goalkeeper to beat, put his effort wide. Delhi certainly saw more of the ball from there on, and kept a good amount of pressure on the Highlanders. However, the next opportunity came NorthEast’s way, against the run of play, when in the 18th minute Emiliano Alfaro ran on with the ball towards goal and even got his shot away but Delhi goalkeeper Antonio Doblas stood his ground and made the save. That move spurred NorthEast on and soon they started taking the attack to the opposition. At the other end, Gadze found another opportunity in the 35th minute when he took down a long ball with his chest in the penalty box but Highlanders goalkeeper TP Rehenesh was quick off his feet and grabbed the ball to see out the danger. Seityasen had a big opportunity to create a goal-scoring chance the very next minute but instead of passing it to Alfaro, who was in a better position on the left, he went for a shot himself, which was saved by Doblas. The match went end-to-end as Kean Lewis missed the next chance for the Lions when he blasted a first-time volley over the bar. Be that as it may, neither team could find a decisive finish and the score line remained goalless at half-time. The second-half started in an uneventful way, but NorthEast managed to break the deadlock fifteen minutes into the half as Seityasen controlled Didier Zokora’s long ball on the right flank, showed great strength to shrug off Souvik Chakraborty while going into the penalty box, and rolled the ball into the goal from a tight angle to send the home fans into a frenzy. NorthEast nearly doubled their lead in the 69th minute, but Romaric’s deflected shot just went wide. But their second goal came the two minutes later when Robert Cullen’s slick pass found Romaric and this time the Ivorian, through on goal, finished neatly, beating an on-rushing Doblas. Katsumi Yusa then saw his shot go just wide in the 83rd minute, but to be fair to the Japanese, he was off-balance. The very next minute saw Ruben Rocha try a long range shot and it stung the hands of Rehenesh. Alfaro then missed a chance in the third minute of added time when his header was just wide of the target. Delhi did manage to get a goal back in the same minute when Marcelinho blasted a shot from a tight angle on the right which beat the Rehenesh at the near post, and gave the Brazilian his ninth goal of the season. But it was too late in the day for Delhi as the score-line remained 2-1 at the final whistle. With that result, NorthEast kept themselves in the hunt for a semis spot. The Highlanders though know that they would need another three points from their final game against Kerala Blasters FC on Sunday to make their maiden semi-final appearance.