NEW DELHI: Chennaiyin FC held on to secure a 2-1 victory over Odisha FC at the GMC Stadium Bambolim on Wednesday. A quickfire double from Esmael Goncalves in the space of six minutes in the first half sealed the win for the two-time champions.
A first victory from the last five attempts meant last year's runners-up rise to fifth in the table with 14 points from 11 games. Odisha's decent run of form came to an end and they remain rooted to the bottom of the standings with six points from 11 games.
Goncalves, popularly known as Isma, missed a glorious chance to put the team from Chennai in front after only five minutes. And it seemed it would again be one of those days for them as they have a habit of spurning opportunities. But Isma made amends in the 15th minute, after Gaurav Bora made a hash of a simple clearance and the Bissau-Guinean striker made no mistake this time.
And the joy was doubled only six minutes later after Anirudh Thapa was brought down in the box by Bora, who had a mare in the first half. Isma made no mistake from the spot and with Rafael Crivellaro not a part of the team, his form will be crucial in the matches to come.
It was not that Odisha did not get any chance to get back in the game but Manuel Onwu could not score with only the keeper to beat. Stuart Baxter brought on Diego Mauricio in the second half in place of Marcelinho and the Brazilian brought impetus to the team and in the 63rd minute, he scored a screamer, a habit the forward has developed so far in the league.
Csaba Laszlo's team had the chance to wrap up the match much before the final whistle but Thoi Singh fluffed his lines when put through on goal. But it did not matter in the end as Odisha could not muster anything substantial in the dying moments.
Laszlo was visibly a relieved man at the full-time whistle. "I told my players that to win games and make the playoffs we need to finish those chances we create. I'm very happy with the three points. The second half was tactically better. We had to play deep and control the game from there because we were leading. Chhangte had two chances and Thoi's one was very easy. It was a dirty game. We had to make those tactical fouls to slow down their tempo," he commented.