The 2-0 victory for Chennai FC over Chennai Customs in the St. Joseph’s-Chennai Football Association senior division league match here on Saturday, might have kept the former in the title hunt, but it wasn’t as easy a triumph as it might have appeared.
After Hamza (officially called Jagaba Harng Anaba) scored the opening goal in the 13th minute, Chennai FC got as many as three chances to improve its tally in the first half, but squandered them all. If Chennai FC was confidence-personified in the first 45 minutes, it was panic-stricken in the second. Mis-passes and poor possession marked the title contender’s game. Customs, which couldn’t stitch a goal-bound move, was a motivated team in the second, raiding Chennai FC regularly from the left flank.
From the sidelines, Raman Vijayan, Chennai FC’s chief coach, decided to sport the jersey midway through the second session in an attempt to give the frontline some teeth. His presence didn’t make much of a difference, though.
ADVERTISEMENT
Tamil Arasu of Customs brought down Hamza in the 89th minute, which resulted in a penalty. Murugappan’s shot was brilliantly saved by Arun Pradeep, diving to his right, but he tapped home the rebound to give Chennai FC the much-needed win.
Chennai FC has 23 points from 10 matches with a match remaining against Southern Railway on April 27. On the other hand, Hindustan Eagles has 22 points from nine matches. Of the two ties, Eagles have a tough one against ICF on April 22 (the other being against Chennai City Police on April 30).
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT