Prior to the game against Kerala Blasters, in spite of a string of losses, Chennaiyin FC manager Marco Materazzi had said that his side was back on track. After Tuesday’s thumping win over Delhi Dynamos, to add to the drubbing of Kerala Blasters, it proved an emphatic vindication of his belief.
“Nothing’s changed,” he reiterated. “Against Kolkata we deserved two or three penalties, but we never gave up. We are now fifth [actually fourth]. We will keep on going.”
Raphael Augusto, the day’s stand-out performer, received special praise.
He is one of two foreign signings, along with Alves Mailson, not to be approved by the ISL. Each club can sign 11 and nine have to be approved.
“He is a champion. He has always been. It was good on Chennai to accept him. He deserves to play for top clubs,” said Materazzi.
The referees, however, continued to draw flak from the Italian despite two largely blemish-free games. “We hope to go to the semifinals,” he said. “If we don’t, it will be our fault and also because of some from the referee. If [John Stiven] Mendoza had scored against NorthEast, which was ruled off-side, we would be talking differently.”
Dynamos manager Roberto Carlos blamed the defeat on his team’s lack of motivation.
“If you see all the goals, they were individual mistakes,” he said. “The obligation to win was with Chennai. Delhi lost because of no motivation.”
“If you allow Raphael, Bruno, Mendoza to perform, this is what happens. It wasn’t because of any strategies or tactics. It’s psychological.”
