Chennai: Chennaiyin FC’s hopes of staying in contention for a top-six berth in the ISL took a severe dent after they went down 0-1 against East Bengal FC at the Salt Lake Stadium in Kolkata on Monday. Nandhakumar found the winner for East Bengal in the 65th minute that helped the Kolkata giants go up to eighth spot with 18 points from 16 games. CFC, with 15 from 16, are 10th and will hope for a miracle.
Chennaiyin started off well and controlled the proceedings in the first half. But the end product, which is absolutely crucial to win games, was not there and East Bengal knew it was only a matter of holding on. East Bengal coach Carles Cuadrat injected pace down the right with the introduction of PV Vishnu in the second half. CFC lost the intensity that they showed in the first half and East Bengal, slowly and steadily, came back into the game.
CFC could still have gone into the lead in the 62nd minute when winger Vincy Barretto reached the byline and played a measured pass but forward Jordan Murray’s shot was blocked by keeper Prabhsukhan Singh Gill. Once East Bengal were let off the hook, they hit back with a vengeance. Three minutes later, following a flag-kick, the nippy Nandhakumar got a loose ball inside the CFC box and he took a speculative hit towards the goal which would have been easily saved by goalkeeper Debjit Majumder. But a wicked deflection off a CFC defender took the ball above Debjit’s head and East Bengal got their coveted lead.
CFC brought in Rafael Crivellaro as a substitute soon after, hoping that he will create something with his left-foot wizardry. But Crivellaro’s mind didn’t seem to be there and he wasted some of the dead-ball situations that didn’t help CFC’s cause. Towards the end, there wasn’t enough aggression on the part of CFC that could threaten East Bengal in their own den.
Chennaiyin head coach Owen Coyle was disappointed saying that they should have made better use of the first half when they had control of the game. “It didn’t happen and East Bengal got a bit lucky with the goal. But we will have to keep fighting. There are a few home games coming up and we should try to win those,” Coyle said.
But considering the way things shaped up through Monday evening, CFC’s chances of staying relevant towards the business end of the league phase really looks remote.
Chennaiyin started off well and controlled the proceedings in the first half. But the end product, which is absolutely crucial to win games, was not there and East Bengal knew it was only a matter of holding on. East Bengal coach Carles Cuadrat injected pace down the right with the introduction of PV Vishnu in the second half. CFC lost the intensity that they showed in the first half and East Bengal, slowly and steadily, came back into the game.
CFC could still have gone into the lead in the 62nd minute when winger Vincy Barretto reached the byline and played a measured pass but forward Jordan Murray’s shot was blocked by keeper Prabhsukhan Singh Gill. Once East Bengal were let off the hook, they hit back with a vengeance. Three minutes later, following a flag-kick, the nippy Nandhakumar got a loose ball inside the CFC box and he took a speculative hit towards the goal which would have been easily saved by goalkeeper Debjit Majumder. But a wicked deflection off a CFC defender took the ball above Debjit’s head and East Bengal got their coveted lead.
CFC brought in Rafael Crivellaro as a substitute soon after, hoping that he will create something with his left-foot wizardry. But Crivellaro’s mind didn’t seem to be there and he wasted some of the dead-ball situations that didn’t help CFC’s cause. Towards the end, there wasn’t enough aggression on the part of CFC that could threaten East Bengal in their own den.
Chennaiyin head coach Owen Coyle was disappointed saying that they should have made better use of the first half when they had control of the game. “It didn’t happen and East Bengal got a bit lucky with the goal. But we will have to keep fighting. There are a few home games coming up and we should try to win those,” Coyle said.
But considering the way things shaped up through Monday evening, CFC’s chances of staying relevant towards the business end of the league phase really looks remote.