A defeat would have been terribly harsh on the debutants as Chennai City FC and Minerva Punjab FC showed character in an entertaining encounter at the Nehru Stadium on Sunday. The two finished without a goal and shared points.
The early signs were positive for Chennai City. The shape was good and the hunger for possession impressive, and the host was unfortunate not to take the lead after 10 minutes.
A cross from right-winger Abhishek Das was headed straight to Minerva ’keeper Ravi Kumar by the side’s under-22 player Lalnun Mawia.
The youngster failed to convert again when the ball fell to him after a goalmouth melee.
Minerva absorbed the pressure and started playing long balls to forward Joel Sunday.
The ploy was to avoid running into Chennai City’s defensive midfielders Dhanpal Ganesh and Denson Devadas, who showed exceptional positional sense in shielding the back four. Minerva tested Karanjit Singh for the first time in the 30th minute. Manandeep Singh received the ball near the box and drove powerfully towards goal, but Karanjit proved equal to the task.
A few minutes later, Karanjit produced a superb instinctive save to deny Victor Amobi.
However, the best player on the pitch was Chennai City’s Haroon Amiri of Afghanistan. On numerous occasions, his quick feet and acceleration enabled him to tear away from the tacklers.
In the 55th minute, Amiri skipped past three players to move into the box, but there was none to support him.
Chennai City coach Robin Charles Raja removed Abhishek Das and replaced Zakeer Mundampara to add bite to the attack.
The home team was lively in the final 20 minutes, but the Minerva defence thwarted all danger.
Though the two sides were solid in defence and midfield, they need to improve their attacks.
