CHENNAI: IT was a game between two teams who knew they couldn’t lose. Neither did, but Chennaiyin FC would have gone home feeling like they lost. The home side trailed most of the time, but were the better team.
In a way, Chennaiyin’s 1-1 draw with Atletico de Kolkata at the JN Stadium does little for either team. Chennaiyin will likely have to win at least two of their remaining three games to progress to the semifinals, something that they would have had to do anyway. Kolkata does move into the top four, but in the ever fluctuating world of the Indian Super League, that is scant consolation.
Marco Materazzi’s starting eleven was predictable, but Jose Molina had major surprise in his team sheet. Missing from it was Canadian striker Iain Hume, who had scored in each of his last three games.
But Kolkata certainly did not miss Hume in the opening few minutes, with Helder Postiga rattling the upright in just the second minute. It did not take long for Chennaiyin to wrest control back from their opponents, for they were to have a couple of chances in the opening fifteen minutes — Hans Mulder testing the keeper Debjit Majumdar both times.
Just when it looked like Chennaiyin were on the ascendance, they were struck the cruelest of blows. Jeje Lalpekhlua, who appeared to have crafted a striking partnership with Davide Succi, went down with what looked like a pulled hamstring. His replacement was the teenaged Daniel Lahlimpuia, who was to become a major attacking threat as the game wore on.
Chennaiyin did manage to mount a few raids into the opposition half, but the home crowd, best of the season so far, was stunned into silence when Postiga found the net with just six minutes remaining in the half. Pritam Kotal ran down the right wing an floated in a fine cross towards the Portuguese. There was little that Majumdar could do about the former Tottenham striker’s header.
The home team played with their shoulders slumped for the remainder of the half, but came out looking re-energised after the break. Succi nearly put them level ten minutes after the restart, taking the ball past Debnath and taking a shot from the narrowest of angles. The crowd erupted when they sensed the net rustle, but euphoria turned to sadness when they realised it was only the side netting.
Materazzi took out the ineffective Hans Mulder for Dudu Omagbemi, to which Molina responded by taking off goalscorer Postiga for destructive midfielder Ofentse Nato. A gamble, it was, for that was the third and last Kolkata substitution. But it was a gamble that would eventually backfire, for after Chennaiyin’s equaliser, Molina was unable to bring on Hume.
The goal itself was created by the unlikeliest of sources. Centre-back Eli Sabia bombed down the right wing and floated in a cross, much like Kotal’s in the first half. Succi’s finish may not have been as emphatic as Postiga’s, but it did the trick.
vishnu.prasad@newindianexpress.com
