CHENNAI: Chennai City FC beat Aizawl FC 2-0 for its maiden win in the I-League football at the Nehru stadium here on Saturday. It has four points from five games now.
Aizawl is still placed third in the points table, and Chennai ninth.
Chennai started without its captain Dharmaraj Ravanan and goalkeeper Karanjit Singh who were out injured.
Chennai alone created realistic chances in the sloppy first half, yet was devoid of the finishing finesse to convert them.
Like, Edwin Sydney Vanspaul blew a chance off a cross by Yumnam Raju from the left. And, Charles de Souza wasted the closest of chances, again off a cross from the left, by Marcos Tank.
Tank himself failed to slot a volley in off Prasanth’s header, inside the box, shooting it close past the left post.
He later surged in, and fed with ample time and space, shot a long-ranger from the edge of the box that went above the post.
The second half was easily the liveliest. Edwin latched on to a poor clearance from Aizawl goalkeeper Albino Gomes, and passed it to Tank, who from just inside the box, slightly on the right, let one float above the goalkeeper for Chennai to go one-up.
Aizawl’s Kingsley Eze made a sensational clearance from the tip of the goal-line when Edwin headed a cross off Prasanth. When the ball was headed, it seemed like Chennai had had it.
Edwin was shown an yellow card for bringing Jayesh Rane down in the 68th minute.
There were two chances of note for Aizawl then. Rane shot Bayi Stephane’s cross from the right wide of goal, and Mahmoud Al Amna’s curler from close range was saved by goalkeeper Abhra Mondal.
Charles de Souza’s goal off a penalty in additional time, after he was brought down by Lalram Chullova, clinched it for Chennai.
The result: Chennai City FC 2 (Marcos Tank, Charles de Souza) bt Aizawl FC 0.
