CHENNAI: It happens ever so often in football. An underperforming team decides it needs a change and installs a new manager, who comes along, rejigs a couple of training drills, and tweaks tactics around a bit. The first team to run into him — not knowing what to expect — confuse themselves into defeat. Suddenly, there is a wave of optimism around the club; a sudden realisation that they are actually better than what their previous results suggested.
But two games on, they are playing exactly as they used to before the change, looking every bit the relegation fodder they were. They call it the ‘new manager bounce’. Chennai City FC’s bounce lasted two games. Now they are back on earth, with the grim reality that they are echelons behind established teams catching up with them during their 1-4 defeat against Shillong Lajong on Sunday.
V Soundararajan’s boys started brightly, but were gutless in the second half. On paper, this was supposed to be a ‘winnable’ game: Lajong with eight U-22 players in their starting XI against Chennai’s experienced stars. In the end, it was the kids who taught the men a lesson.
Yet, it all seemed so different in the opening quarter. Soundar’s decision to finally recall Haroon Fakhrudddin Amiri appeared to have paid off as the Afghan star injected a sense of purpose into the attack. Local youngsters Edwin Vanspaul and Nandhakumar attacked relentlessly from the flanks, as Chennai were awarded at least five corners in the opening 20 minutes. Only Charles D’Souza’s and Amiri’s profligacy prevented Chennai from going in front.
That changed in the 27th minute with a move from Lajong coach Thangboi Singto, bringing on Brazilian forward Fabio Pena for young Samuel Lalmuanpuia.
While crediting Lajong’s revival to that alone would be naive — a number of Chennai players looked like they had run out of steam after an opening quarter that played out at lightning place — it was Pena who made the difference ten minutes after coming on. Goalkeeper Karanjit Singh rushed forward to meet Isaac Vanmalsawma’s freekick, but found himself stranded in no man’s land. Pena was on hand to bundle the ball home.
Chennai, all of a sudden, looked deflated, and they never recovered. Soundar sent on Marcos Vinicius and Michael Soosairaj early in the second half in an attempt to freshen things up.
But, a second setback arrived in the 65th, with Isaac scoring from a direct freekick. The next two goals barely had a heartbeat between them; first Bipin Singh scoring in the 78th minute and then Cameroonian striker Dipanda Dicka netting his eighth of the season a minute later.
Amiri got one back for Chennai in the dying minutes, but that did not take anything away from the magnitude of defeat.
vishnu.prasad@newindianexpress.com