CHENNAI: For Chennai Cheetahs, this was a nightmare that preceded the wakeup call — being humiliated 3-5 in the WSH league by the bottom-placed Karnataka Lions, who were bereft of Dhanraj Pillay, Arjun Halappa and Amar Aiyamma. This was a display that exposed their fallibilities to the fullest, so much so that their morale took an awful battering.
But not one among the scattered but cheery crowd would have felt empathic to the home side — they are yet to register a win at the Mayor Radhakrishnan Stadium — for it such error-strewn a show that it deserved no commiseration.
But for sloppy finishing — not for the first time in the tournament — Cheetahs could have nailed the match in the first quarter itself. Despite camping off in the Karnataka Lions’ goalmouth, they made hard weather of it. They did all but score a goal, and Peter Kelly, for all his speed, continually shot wide off the target.
When on such occasions they eventually shot on target, breaching the vigilant stick of Len Aiyappa, goalkeeper Devesh Chauhan reinforced those fickle years hasn’t diminished his judgment or reflexes. Whenever, he advanced forth, he was totally assured of reaching to the ball before the opponent did. Aiyappa, despite his protruding waistline, exhibited his worth with sound blocking and agile clearances. The two Kullus — Deepak and Innocent — too did the defensive roles to perfection.
All the same, there was a spark of ingenuity by Vikram Pillay, the tireless maneuverer on the left flank. He shaped in for the flick — Cheetahs second penalty corner — before side-stepping to cover his marker and placed the ball for Imran Warsi, who collected it with a delightful turn before unfurling a thunderous shot that crashed into the cage. But the goal was disallowed as Pillay had intentionally blocked the rusher so as to set-up Warsi. Visibly, Cheetahs lost the game in their minds then and there.
As if often the case in such contests, Karnataka, almost listless in the first quarter ended half-time with a two-goal cushion. Invariably, both owed to Cheetahs’ sloppy defence and wayward passing. Sunil Yadav casually skimmed the ball to his right even as a wary Ravipal Singh intersected and made the required connection to its passage to the goal. Six minutes later, fellow striker Vinayak Buwad enhanced their tally, three minutes before half time. However, Imran Warsi’s flick in the 37th minutes revived Cheetahs flailing hopes, and they duly kept the tempo for nearly 15 minutes before Ravipal added two more goals to further Cheetahs’ woes. Warsi’s 67th minute strike did little to ease Cheetahs out of the trench they had plunged into. And if Jose Brasa’s side is to recover from the slump — just a point from three matches at home — he ought to plug the gaping gashes in his defence. Sadly, he doesn’t seem to have the ammunition either.
