ISL: Jamshedpur FC fight back to deny Delhi Dynamos victory in a fluctuating contest

Jamshedpur FC fought back to deny a reinvigorated Delhi Dynamos a victory at home in Sunday night’s Indian Super League encounter in the nation’s capital.

The Dynamos, after conceding a goal towards the end of first half, scored two back-to-back goals, early in the second period. They would have fancied their chances of getting their first win of the season. But Tiri changed the game’s fate in the 72nd minute. In a moment of scramble, the Jamshedpur skipper – unmarked during a corner – leapt towards a ball that deflected off Marcus Tebar and headed into the net.

Lallianzuala Chhangte and Adria Carmona had turned the game in the hosts favour in the space of three minutes in the second half.

In the 55th minute, Chhangte capitalised on a defensive error from Jamshedpur FC. Adria Carmona attempted to clear the ball away from the corner. It fell to Robin Gurung, who – unaware of Chhangte’s presence – tried passing the ball to the ‘keeper. Chhangte pounced at the opportunity, intercepted the ball and side-stepped the keeper to slot the equaliser.

Three minutes later, Carmona – who came on as a second half substitute – headed in Delhi’s second goal. Chhangte had crossed the ball from the left and, after a couple of deflections, it headed towards Carmona, who finished successfully.

Earlier, after coming close on several occasions, Jamshedpur FC scored the game’s first goal through a Sergio Cidoncha strike in the 39th minute. His final shot, per se, wasn’t a great spectacle. But the lead-up to the goal was awe-inspiring.

The hosts, who were trying to stop the Jamshedpur midfielders and attackers for most of the first half, had a rare moment of attack. But once the visitors intercepted the ball near their box, the counterattack was explosively quick. Gourav Mukhi and Cidoncha had three defenders to beat. The former made a clever pass to Cidoncha, who beat a defender and directed the ball past the ‘keeper.

Jamshedpur, despite having just 45% possession in the first half, were the dominant side. They had four shots on goal. Just a minute after scoring the first goal, they came close to doubling the lead when Gourav’s curled a shot from the right. But an alert Dorronsoro rushed ahead to block the ball.

Delhi too created quite a bit of chances, with Kaludjerovic coming close to scoring on two occasions. He almost handed the home team it’s first three points in the first minute of the additional time. But it was a resilient Jamshedpur FC that held on for a 2-2 away draw.