Chennaiyin post first win

Chennaiyin FC made five changes to the starting XI from the one that took on Delhi Dynamos last week. Goalkeeper Karanjit Singh, Manuele Blasi, Eli Sabia, Davide Succi and Jerry Lalrinzuala got starts on Thursday. With Frenchman Bernard Mendy side-lined, Mehrajuddin Wadoo donned the captain’s armband for the home team. The Kashmiri was the first Indian skipper for Chennaiyin FC in three seasons. Chenniayin FC, making their intentions clear, were off in full steam. It just took 15 minutes for the home team to send the crowd to raptures when Hans Mulder sent the ball to the bottom right corner in a flash. Brazilian Raphael Augusto, who has not yet fired this season, sent Mulder through just outside the box. The Dutchman was given too much time by Lucio and Co. as they backed off to give him time to place the ball beyond  Kattimani’s reach.

The home team doubled their lead 11 minutes later when Goa’s defender Rafael Dumas deflected Wadoo’s shot into the goal. Wadoo, from the right, attempted a shot on the far post only for Dumas to head it past the goalkeeper in an attempt to thwart the danger. Goa’s best chance of the first half came in the 42nd minute when Wadoo failed to clear a ball from Chennaiyin custodian Karanjit. Goa’s Rafael Coelho pounced on the lapse in a jiffy and sent a rocketing right-footer that missed the top right corner of the net by inches. Zico took off his marquee player Lucio for midfielder Richarlyson Felisbino at the break and the Goans tried to parade their attacking skills. Goa sensed an opening when Dumas sent a good through ball to Coelho but the striker, who had a narrow angle at the goal, could only find the side of the net. Chennaiyin tried to up the ante on the counter when Mulder sent a diagonal cross to Succi and the striker took off on the right flank and passed it back to the Dutchman. However, Mulder failed to control the ball as Dumas steered the danger clear. Chennaiyin could have made it 3-0 in the 78th minute when Mulder, from the left, set up Baljit Sahni who wasted a golden opportunity to find the side of the net.