CHENNAI: Bouncing back from a demoralising defeat is never the easiest of things to do. On Thursday against NorthEast United, Chennaiyin FC need to do exactly that. The two successful seasons under Marco Materazzi were built on the back of the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium being a virtual fortress.
John Gregory has already lost his home opener. One more loss here may leave him with a lot of catching up to do in the opening week of the season.
“The first thing you want to do after a loss is to get back on the field,” Gregory said at the pre-game press conference on Wednesday. “We got our chance very quickly. It cannot come quick enough. The game has come along at the right time.”A lot will depend on which of Gregory’s teams from Sunday’s loss to FC Goa turns up. His first half team was hopelessly outrun by Goa attackers, too many players struggling in an unfamiliar formation. Gregory started with three central defenders — including a makeshift one in Dhanachandra Singh.
The two wingbacks pushed up front and were tasked with tracking back whenever under attack. The result? Dhanchandra was caught out multiple times in the first half, while the two wide men — Jerry Lalrinzuala and Thoi Singh — huffed and puffed as they ran in vain behind fleet-footed attackers. Unsurprisingly, Chennaiyin conceded three goals in the first 35 minutes.
The second half saw a different team turn up, a more solid, compact one. Dhanachandra was hauled off with Inigo Calderon dropping back from midfield to replace him in the heart of defence.
The introduction of Gregory Nelson on the right allowed Thoi to be a lot more defensive. The changes, along with a couple of clangers from Goa’s keeper Laxmikant Kattimani, allowed Chennaiyin back into the match, scoring two goals and ending the match on a high.
“We will have to wait and see but I certainly wasn’t happy with the formation the other night,” Gregory said.
“We looked a balanced team in the second half. We continued with three central defenders who were quiet in the second half. We created a lot of chances with that shape.”Their opponents NorthEast United had done everything but score in their opener against Jamshedpur FC, but their coach Joao de Deus wasn’t too worried about his forwards’ inability to convert chances.
“We created a lot of chances and didn’t get a goal but for me, that is not a problem,” he scored. “We know how to reach there. I can tell you that I am not worried that we didn’t score.”
In three years of ISL, NorthEast have never lost a game at the JN Stadium here. But Gregory brushed aside any notion of that having a bearing on the game. “Records are meant to be broken,” he said. “Eventually they have to lose here.”
Both coaches have good news on the injury front. For Gregory, Germanpreet Singh will be back in contention after missing the first game due to an injury sustained while on India duty. Raphael Augusto has also been passed fit after struggling against Goa FC in the opening game. NorthEast will have Rowllin Borges available after the latter trained on Wednesday.
vishnu.prasad@newindianexpress.com