Following a one-and-a-half-month winless run — marked by four home defeats and a solitary away draw from their previous five matches — NorthEast United FC finally returned to winning ways with a 3-2 victory over 10-man Inter Kashi at Indira Gandhi Athletic Stadium in Guwahati on Saturday.It was a welcome relief for the Indian Super League (ISL) side, which had last tasted victory on March 15, beating Jamshedpur FC at home. Since then, the Highlanders’ campaign had steadily unravelled.Saturday, however, told a different story. Originally scheduled as Inter Kashi’s home fixture, the match was shifted to Guwahati due to unavoidable circumstances — a move that ultimately proved advantageous for Juan Pedro Benali’s men.Jithin MS opened the scoring in first-half stoppage time to give NEUFC a 1-0 lead at the break. The hosts then earned a decisive advantage in the 62nd minute when Wayne Vaz was sent off for a dangerous foul inside the box, conceding a penalty in the process.Andy Rodriguez made no mistake from the spot a minute later to double the lead. However, despite being reduced to 10 men for more than half an hour, Inter Kashi mounted an impressive fightback.Goals from Sergio Llamas (71’) and Mohammed Asif Khan (82’) brought Antonio López Habas’ side level, leaving the home crowd visibly tense heading into the final moments.With the clock ticking down, home favourite Parthiv Gogoi rose to the occasion, scoring the winner in the 90th minute to secure all three points for the Highlanders after a long wait. The result marked NEUFC’s second win of the season, lifting them one place to 11th in the standings with 10 points from 11 matches. Inter Kashi remain eighth, with 11 points from 10 games.