Former champions Chennaiyin FC returned to winning ways with a 2-1 win over Odisha FC in the Hero Indian Super League at the Tilak Maidan Stadium on Saturday.
Germanpreet Singh opened the scoring with his first-ever goal in the Hero ISL. Mirlan Murzaev made it 2-0 in the second half with a brilliant strike from distance as the Božidar Bandović-coached side moved to third in the points table, level on points with second-placed Jamshedpur FC and four off league leaders Mumbai City FC.
Odisha succumbed to their second straight defeat and dropped a rung to fifth place with nine points from six matches. Chennaiyin have 11 points from six games. Javi Hernandez scored a superb goal but it wasn’t enough in the end.
FC Goa play out 1-1 draw with Hyderabad FC
FC Goa played a highly entertaining 1-1 draw with Hyderabad FC in the Hero Indian Super League 2021-22 fixture at the Athletic Stadium in Bambolim on Saturday. The result elevated the Nizams to second place in the points table after having dropped down to fourth owing to Chennaiyin FC’s win over Odisha FC.
Joel Chianese (54’) scored his first goal of the season, sending HFC into the lead with a brilliant header but Airan Cabrera (62’) equalised for FCG just after the hour mark.
The match started on a high tempo with both teams enjoying scoring opportunities early on. Amidst the high energy where tackles were flying in from both sets of players, Rohit Danu was the first to receive a yellow card on the night for a high boot in the 26th minute.
Moments later, Seriton Fernandes got a yellow as well for arguing with the referee. It was Joel Chianese’s turn to receive a yellow after the half hour mark for simulation inside FC Goa’s box.
Hyderabad FC will now face bottom-placed SC East Bengal at the Athletic Stadium on Thursday while FC Goa are up against Odisha FC at the Tilak Maidan Stadium on Friday