Shillong: NorthEast United FC continued their impressive away form as they picked up a well-deserved point against the might of Chennaiyin FC in a 2-2 draw at the Jawaharlal Nehru stadium on Saturday.

Ricki Herbert commented, “We were arguably the better team tonight. I am very proud of Len for scoring his first goal tonight and proving to be the emerging player in today’s match. He has delivered and it’s been a pretty good night for him. Elano is the right type of player and is good on the ball but we bounced back twice and performed well tonight.”

Elano put his side into the lead before Seminlen Doungel equalized just before the end of the first half. The Brazilian scored his second goal of the evening in the 78th minute only for Koke to equalize seven minutes later.

Gennaro Bracigiliano replaced Shilton Paul in goal for the hosts which meant the extra foreigner in Jean-Eudes Maurice had to be replaced by Jeje Lalpekhlua.

NorthEast United FC on the other hand, set up boldly with SeminLen Doungel partnering James Keene upfront as they looked to give the Chennaiyin defence something to think about. The Indian starlet and the Englishman came in for Do Dong-Hyun and Durga Boro. Milan Singh replaced Zodingliana Ralte in midfield.

Neither keeper had any work to do for the opening quarter of an hour but while NorthEast enjoyed the greater share of possession, Chennai looked to break swiftly on the counter.

For all of Chennai's attacking threat, it was only in the 17th minute that Rehenesh was forced into a save. Elano got in behind the defence and his left-footed effort was smartly saved by the front runner for the Indian Super League's Golden Glove.

NorthEast had far more possession in the opposing half but with 25 minutes on the clock, the hosts made the breakthrough, courtesy of another goal from Elano.

Marco Materazzi spread the ball to the left from where Denson Devdas whipped in a cross. The Brazilian popped up inside the box and headed in his 7th goal of the tournament.

Ten minutes later, Chennai broke on the counter as the away side pushed for an equalizer. Stiiven Mendoza was almost clean through but an excellent last ditch tackle from Robin Gurung evaded the danger.

In the 38th minute, Ricki Herbert's tactical move to deploy two strikers upfront paid off as NorthEast came roaring back into the game with an equalizer. Aibor Khongjee's cross from the right was knocked down by Keene and Len instinctively swiveled and shot to make it 1-1.

Immediately from the restart, Mendoza went up the other end and forced a save from Rehenesh with a left-footed shot. Elano tried to attack the loose ball but Joan Capdevila poked it away in time and the two sides went into the break level pegging.

The first chance of the second period fell to the visitors in the 49th minute when Dhanachandra fouled Len on the edge of the area. Koke laid the free-kick off for Felipe de Crasto whose left-footed pile-driver flashed just over the crossbar.

NorthEast's two-pronged attack caused problems in the Chennai defence again two minutes later. Keene muscled out Silvestre but Bracigliano came off his line to thwart him. The keeper then got a hand to Len's follow-up shot and it dropped for Mendy to clear.

In the 57th minute, Elano burst through the middle and fired a stinging shot from outside the box but Rehenesh matched up to the effort and parried it away. It was a good contest between the Golden Glove front runner and the favourite for the Golden Boot and the former came out on top on that occasion.

Balwant Singh found himself in a one-on-one situation with the keeper in the 73rd minute. The striker tapped the ball past Rehenesh but the referee awarded NorthEast a free-kick for a high boot when Chennai frantically appealed for a penalty.

The home support was treated to more Elano magic in the 78th minute when he scored a terrific second goal. He cut in from the left, went past three defenders and rifled his shot into the far corner.

NorthEast never throw in the towel though and their persistence was rewarded in the 85th minute. Gouramangi singh failed to clear a cross from the right and the ball fell for Koke who thumped in a spectacular volley to bring the Highlanders back on level terms.

The impressive away side nearly snatched all three points right at the death. Koke found space on the edge of the area in the first minute of stoppage time and slid in a pass for Do Hyun-Dong whose shot was blocked with a sliding challenge from Mendy.

Koke then had a go from distance deep into injury time but his shot went wide of the target and the two sides were made to settle for a share of the spoils.

The visitors have widely been regarded as one of the most cohesive units in the ISL and that notion was certainly bolstered during this performance. They defended from the front and their determination saw them earn a huge point and move to fourth in the table.