Chennaiyin FC registered only their second win of the season with a well-deserved 2-1 victory over southern rivals Bengaluru FC at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in Chennai.
It was Chennaiyin’s first triumph since their 4-2 win over FC Pune City back on November 6, 2018.
The match began on a quiet note with neither side being able to carve out any real chances in the opening exchanges. Chennaiyin did enjoy the lion’s share of the possession initially, while Bengaluru opted to sit back and waited patiently for counter-attacking opportunities.
Raphael Augusto did brilliantly to evade his markers before releasing CK Vineeth. The striker couldn’t make room for a shot, but his deflected pass fell kindly for Jeje. The Mizo sniper’s powerful strike struck the palms of Bengaluru goalkeeper Gurpreet Singh Sandhu before finding its way into the back of the net.
The Blues were visibly flustered by the goal and conceded a second only ten minutes later. This time, Laldinliana Renthlei whipped in a delicious cross from the right flank, which fell perfectly to Gregory Nelson. The Dutchman leaped over Rino Anto and expertly directed his header into the bottom corner, leaving Gurpreet with no chance. That would prove to be the last notable piece of action of the first half as the hosts went into the break with a deserved two-goal advantage.
Chasing a two-goal deficit for the second match running, Carles Cuadrat’s men heaped on the pressure right from the start of the second half. Unsurprisingly, Bengaluru got themselves back into the match on the 57thminute through Chhetri. The Bengaluru captain timed his run perfectly to beat Chennaiyin’s offside trap, before executing a brilliant diving header which found the back of the net.
As the match entered its final stages, Bengaluru started to turn the screws on the Chennaiyin backline and nearly equalized. A loose ball fell to the feet of substitute Edmund Lalrindika, who squared the ball to Xisco. The Spaniard took a first-time shot, but it was too straight to worry Chennaiyin custodian Karanjit Singh.
With just minutes remaining for the full-time whistle, Chennaiyin could have increased their margin of victory and killed the tie off. Francisco Fernandes took advantage of some slack defending from Bengaluru to initiate a counter-attack. Nelson ran at the Bengaluru defense with pace before sliding the ball back to Fernandes. However, the midfielder could not keep his shot on target.
