In a nutshell, the match against Chennaiyin FC mimicked Delhi Dynamos’ season so far — short of ideas, bereft of any creativity and uni-dimensional in the first half only to turn it around remarkably well in the second.
The 2-2 draw on Tuesday at the Jawaharlal Nehru stadium was earned following goals from Italian legend Alessandro Del Piero, through a superbly taken free-kick, and captain Hans Mulder, courtesy a powerful drive from outside the penalty area.
The rally from 2-0 down has kept Dynamos alive in the league but still at the mercy of other teams. The result also eliminated NorthEast United FC and Mumbai City FC, the Highlanders’ opponent on Wednesday, faces the gargantuan task of having to win by at least 11 goals to harbour any semifinal aspirations.
The Dynamos started the match with perhaps its best line-up — a 4-3-3 with Mads Junker, Francisco Fernandez and dos Santos forming the front three. Chennai handed a debut for its latest import Alessandro Nesta, the Italian World Cup winner, at the heart of the defence.
But the first goal was as freakish as it gets. In the 16th minute Dynamos’ 6’10” goalkeeper, Kristof van Hout, was beaten when a corner kick from Bruno Pelissari went straight in. Then, seven minutes later, an injured Junker made way for Del Piero.
The Italian has failed to get an extended run this season and this was probably his best chance. He came into his own in the second half after he scored off a set-piece. But before that Chennai executed what was the move of the match.
On 28 minutes Balwant Singh delivered a diagonal through ball from the left for Harmanjot Khabra — who was outstanding throughout — to whip a first time cross from the right which was guided into the goal by Jeje Lalpekhlua.
In the second half, however, Chennai’s defence fell apart. It also coincided with Nesta being substituted to give Gouramangi Singh, who was returning from an injury layoff, some game time. Till then the Italian was barking instructions and helping the team keep its shape.
After Del Piero’s goal, player manager Marco Materazzi had to bring himself on to give his side some direction in the face of some spirited attacks from the Dynamos’ front-line which was primarily built on the shoulders of Henrique Dinis and Morten Skoubo playing behind.
The result: Chennaiyin FC (Pelissari 16, Jeje 28) drew with Delhi Dynamos 2 (Del Piero 53, Mulder 88).
