Who would’ve thought at the beginning of the season that the Highlanders would end up 2nd in the standings at the conclusion of the league stage? Certainly Emaad and Saransh had that in mind.

Off to a poor start in the season opener, the NorthEast boys came out on the losing side against Bengaluru FC. Their never give up attitude had them going nine straight games unbeaten, racking up 7 wins and 2 draws in their run to securing a direct semifinal spot. They went on to win 7 games in a row post this, taking home wins against East Bengal FC, Jamshedpur FC, Hyderabad FC, Kerala Blasters, ATK Mohun Bagan, Chennaiyin FC and Odisha FC. Their last two games of the season had them taking home two consecutive draws against Mumbai City FC and FC Goa.

This terrific run of form from the Highlanders saw them scoring 76 goals in total, while conceding 43, the lowest among all teams. Emaad and Saransh’s fire form of goals puts them up as one of the contenders for the season.