Chennaiyin FC ended Odisha FC’s 13-match unbeaten run in the Indian Super League on Sunday as an added-time winner by Jordan Murray helped the home side to a 2-1 win the Jawaharlal Nehru Indoor Stadium in Chennai.
It is a result that will have ramifications across the points table, with Mumbai City FC (35) and Mohun Bagan Super Giant (33) with a good chance to displace Odisha FC (35) from the top.
Simultaneously, it has kept the tenth-placed Owen Coyle-coached side in the hunt for a top-six finish. Chennaiyin have 18 points, three points behind sixth-placed Bengaluru FC having played a game less.
Coyle insisted before the game that Chennaiyin play their best at home, whereas Odisha FC head coach Sergio Lobera acknowledged recently that every game is a final at this stage. The Juggernauts are also gearing up for the first leg of their AFC Cup inter-zonal semi-final against the Central Coast Mariners in Sydney on Thursday, and hence a result like this could not have come at a more unfavourable time for them.
Chennaiyin produced one of their most coordinated performances right from the back to the front, barring a brief moment of lack of concentration that equalised scores in the 78th minute.
Ankit Mukherjee drew the first blood from a set-piece five minutes into the game, with Rafael Crivellaro picking the fullback amidst a crowded box on the near post on the right side. Mukherjee charged inside and beat competition from the towering Mourtada Fall to drill the ball into the back of the net. Odisha tested the Chennaiyin resolve later on, with domestic stars Amey Ranawade and Isak Vanlalruatfela teasing Debjit Majumder through close range efforts.
In the 39th minute, Roy Krishna teamed up with Ranawade on the right side of the box, but the fullback’s shot on the near post was thwarted by Majumder to keep scores level. Six minutes later, the crafty Ahmed Jahouh launched in a long ball from the centre of the park for Isak, that the winger controlled admirably well before taking a shot at Majumder’s reflexes, but to no avail.
It took the seasoned Krishna to level the scores. Cy Goddard’s looping corner was headed towards goal by Ranawade. An unmarked Krishna jumped highest to flick the ball in.
The goal didn’t peg Chennaiyin FC back. It instead fuelled them to find the winner, with Farukh Choudhary and Connor Shields taking precise shots from inside of the box in the following few minutes. The three points, however, came in their kitty through Murray, who jumped to hammer in a corner by Shields in the fourth minute of the added time of the second half to seal the game lock, stock, and barrel.