FC Goa’s unbeaten home run in the Indian Super League came to an abrupt end on Sunday as Chennaiyin FC humiliated them by scoring four goals without reply.
Much was expected from a Goa team that had beaten a formidable looking Delhi Dynamos in their opening match and had come from behind to hold the defending champions Atletico De Kolkata to a 1-1 draw in their second. However, the 18,000-plus Goa fans at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in Fatorda were in for a rude shock as Stiven Mendoza and Elano Blumer wreaked havoc in the Goa defense.
Formations
FC Goa coach Zico played a 4-2-3-1 formation with Lucio and Gregory Arnolin playing as centre backs and Debabrata Roy and Keenan Almeida operating as left and right backs respectively. Joffre and Denson Devadas played as defensive midfielders supporting the trio of Mandar Rao Desai, Leo Moura and Romeo Fernandes as the attacking midfielders. Reinaldo was the lone striker up front and Elinton Andrade was their goalkeeper for the match.
In contrast, visitors Chennaiyin FC coach Marco Materazzi played a 4-3-1-2 formation with Bernard Mendy and Mailson Alves at central defence and Sena Ralte and Mehrajuddin Wadoo at left and right back positions respectively. The midfield trio of Harmanjot Singh Khabra, Raphael Augusto and Thoi Singh supported Elano who played just behind the striking force of Stiven Mendoza and Jayesh Rane. Under the bar was Apoula Edel.
Chennai start off brightly
It did not take long for Chennaiyin FC to get going. They controlled the majority of possession with slick passes to light up the game. Indeed, when Khabra stung the hands of FC Goa goalkeeper Andrade in the eighth minute with an ambitious long range effort, no one would have expected that Chennaiyin FC were just getting warmed up,
In the 10th minute, Elano sent Mendoza through on a one-on-one situation with goalkeeper Andrade. Mendoza’s shot hit Andrade’s leg and was rolling towards the goal when Arnolin put in a desperate slide, trying to put the ball away to safety. In the process, the ball hit the Andrade and went straight back to Mendoza, who poked the ball into an open net, giving Chennaiyin an early lead and silencing the crowd.
The goal seemed to have awakened FC Goa who created a couple of chances with Edel first saving from Almeida and then gathering Reinaldo’s fluffed attempt. In the 43rd minute, the energetic and fast-paced Thoi Singh showed great strength and robbed the ball from Debabrata Roy in the right flank. He passed the ball to Rane who squared it up for Elano to fire home first-time with his left foot.Throughout the first half, the talented and fan-favourite Romeo Fernandes was kept quiet. Missing were his usual quick runs and his passing was not precise. At half time he was substituted off by Zico for Bikramjit Singh, with the idea to inject more pace into the attack.
Mendoza settles it
In the 62nd minute, Elano, after drawing three defenders towards him provided Mendoza with a through ball. Mendoza coolly chipped it over an onrushing Andrade with his left foot to score his second and Chennaiyin’s third goal for the night. With the score reading 3-0 in Chennaiyin’s favour, the crowd at the Fatorda Stadium has just about had enough.
In desperation, Zico called on CS Sabeeth who replaced Mandar Desai. Materazzi, on the other hand brought on Godwin Franco for the superb Thoi Singh and Bruno Pelissari for Elano. The 75th minute saw Pelissari cross from the right to Mendoza who controlled the ball superbly with his chest before blasting a shot into the goal past a helpless Andrade. The unbelievable scoreline now read FC Goa 0-4 Chennaiyin FC.
CS Sabeeth unleashed a powerful shot from just outside the box which resulted in the ball hitting the underside of the crossbar and crossing the goal line before bouncing back to play. However, the linesman failed to notice. Reinaldo also hit a shot on target, but it was straight to the goalkeeper Edel.
An improved Chennaiyin FC walked away deserved winners while FC Goa were left licking their wounds in a match in which they were lacklustre and dreadful in defence. FC Goa had no answer to the speed of the Chennaiyin FC players and their passing was inaccurate and finishing was poor. Their opponents certainly made them pay a heavy price for this way below par performance.
However, take nothing from the hero of the match Stiven Mendoza whose return to form along with the ever reliable Elano has provided Chennaiyin FC with the much needed fire power they lacked earlier.
With the victory, Chennai have climbed to fifth place in the league standings, just behind Goa at fourth.
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Much was expected from a Goa team that had beaten a formidable looking Delhi Dynamos in their opening match and had come from behind to hold the defending champions Atletico De Kolkata to a 1-1 draw in their second. However, the 18,000-plus Goa fans at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in Fatorda were in for a rude shock as Stiven Mendoza and Elano Blumer wreaked havoc in the Goa defense.
Formations
FC Goa coach Zico played a 4-2-3-1 formation with Lucio and Gregory Arnolin playing as centre backs and Debabrata Roy and Keenan Almeida operating as left and right backs respectively. Joffre and Denson Devadas played as defensive midfielders supporting the trio of Mandar Rao Desai, Leo Moura and Romeo Fernandes as the attacking midfielders. Reinaldo was the lone striker up front and Elinton Andrade was their goalkeeper for the match.
In contrast, visitors Chennaiyin FC coach Marco Materazzi played a 4-3-1-2 formation with Bernard Mendy and Mailson Alves at central defence and Sena Ralte and Mehrajuddin Wadoo at left and right back positions respectively. The midfield trio of Harmanjot Singh Khabra, Raphael Augusto and Thoi Singh supported Elano who played just behind the striking force of Stiven Mendoza and Jayesh Rane. Under the bar was Apoula Edel.
Chennai start off brightly
It did not take long for Chennaiyin FC to get going. They controlled the majority of possession with slick passes to light up the game. Indeed, when Khabra stung the hands of FC Goa goalkeeper Andrade in the eighth minute with an ambitious long range effort, no one would have expected that Chennaiyin FC were just getting warmed up,
In the 10th minute, Elano sent Mendoza through on a one-on-one situation with goalkeeper Andrade. Mendoza’s shot hit Andrade’s leg and was rolling towards the goal when Arnolin put in a desperate slide, trying to put the ball away to safety. In the process, the ball hit the Andrade and went straight back to Mendoza, who poked the ball into an open net, giving Chennaiyin an early lead and silencing the crowd.
The goal seemed to have awakened FC Goa who created a couple of chances with Edel first saving from Almeida and then gathering Reinaldo’s fluffed attempt. In the 43rd minute, the energetic and fast-paced Thoi Singh showed great strength and robbed the ball from Debabrata Roy in the right flank. He passed the ball to Rane who squared it up for Elano to fire home first-time with his left foot.Throughout the first half, the talented and fan-favourite Romeo Fernandes was kept quiet. Missing were his usual quick runs and his passing was not precise. At half time he was substituted off by Zico for Bikramjit Singh, with the idea to inject more pace into the attack.
Mendoza settles it
In the 62nd minute, Elano, after drawing three defenders towards him provided Mendoza with a through ball. Mendoza coolly chipped it over an onrushing Andrade with his left foot to score his second and Chennaiyin’s third goal for the night. With the score reading 3-0 in Chennaiyin’s favour, the crowd at the Fatorda Stadium has just about had enough.
In desperation, Zico called on CS Sabeeth who replaced Mandar Desai. Materazzi, on the other hand brought on Godwin Franco for the superb Thoi Singh and Bruno Pelissari for Elano. The 75th minute saw Pelissari cross from the right to Mendoza who controlled the ball superbly with his chest before blasting a shot into the goal past a helpless Andrade. The unbelievable scoreline now read FC Goa 0-4 Chennaiyin FC.
CS Sabeeth unleashed a powerful shot from just outside the box which resulted in the ball hitting the underside of the crossbar and crossing the goal line before bouncing back to play. However, the linesman failed to notice. Reinaldo also hit a shot on target, but it was straight to the goalkeeper Edel.
An improved Chennaiyin FC walked away deserved winners while FC Goa were left licking their wounds in a match in which they were lacklustre and dreadful in defence. FC Goa had no answer to the speed of the Chennaiyin FC players and their passing was inaccurate and finishing was poor. Their opponents certainly made them pay a heavy price for this way below par performance.
However, take nothing from the hero of the match Stiven Mendoza whose return to form along with the ever reliable Elano has provided Chennaiyin FC with the much needed fire power they lacked earlier.
With the victory, Chennai have climbed to fifth place in the league standings, just behind Goa at fourth.