CHENNAI: WHAT difference a minute can make! Had Nerijus Valskis decided, in the ninety-sixth minute of Chennaiyin FC’s must-win encounter against Hyderabad FC, that the game was over, John Gregory would not have been smiling as widely as he was on Wednesday. Instead, Valskis found it in himself to conjure a winner with literally seconds left for the final whistle. And his coach was still beaming as he walked in for the pre-match press conference ahead of Chennaiyin’s game against Odisha FC on Thursday.
And a good chunk of that was spent explaining how that goal had turned around the mood inside the Chennai camp.
“The fans’ reaction was quite amazing,” said Gregory. “I don’t think I’ve heard the stadium be that loud since we beat Goa in the playoffs (two seasons ago). It has filtered down to the media as well, we’ve been getting a lot more coverage since that goal. Coming back to the hotel after the match, I think every member of the staff here came up to the players and congratulated them. It was quite an incredible feeling and I hope my players will understand what it means to so many people.”
The challenge on Thursday for Gregory and his boys will be to ride the unexpected wave that they find themselves upon. For far too long, have they been spiralling into a seemingly endless abyss. Now they have something to hold on to — let go and they might not find another opportunity to hoist themselves up from the hole.
And that is easier said than done. While the last five minutes on Monday were as exciting and euphoric as it gets in a game of football, the ninety minutes that preceded it was as average as any Chennaiyin have had this season. Sure, there were a number of chances created, but that wasn’t the biggest of their problems. Their forwards just seemed incapable of finding the back of the net. “I’ve never had any doubts about my strikers,” Gregory said. “They score every day in training. I knew a lot about the two of them and their ability before they came here. They showed it in practice matches but it was not happening in the ISL. It was worrying. I was worried for them.”
If as they say, forwards are indeed machines that run on confidence, then Valskis’ and Andre Schembri’s injury-time goals augur well for Chennaiyin. They need a win on Thursday for they lie five points away from that all-important playoff spot. Odisha aren’t exactly generous at the back — their last two games were goalless draws.
Their last game where they shut out table toppers and the league’s joint-top-scorers ATK was a particularly commendable effort. But if the two Chennaiyin strikers can stay on top of that wave, then a revival might finally be on for the Blues.