Chennayin FC completely tore down the struggling Mumbai City FC defence in a rain soaked encounter of the Indian Super League.
The Super Machans trounced a struggling Mumbai City FC 3-0 in a rain-clad home match of the Indian Super League on Tuesday, to go a step closer to confirm their berth in the semi-finals.
Chennaiyin FC rushed to a 2-0 lead within the opening quarter of the game, which was delayed due to rain, and then went on to add another just before the half time break, to seal the match completely in their favour. Chennaiyin FC though will be happy that they have found a regular alternative to Mendoza for scoring goals, as three different goalscorers again got onto the scoresheet.
The Super Machans made two changes to their lineup with Alessandro Potenza returning to the lineup after serving his suspension for collecting four yellow cards and Harmajot Khabra was dropped in favor of Zakeer Mundampara.
The Blue Devils though made four changes to their lineup in hopes of their first away victory in the season, as Frederic Piquionne, Ashutosh Mehta, Rowilson Rodrigues and Darren O’Dea all made their return to the starting eleven.
Rain has been pouring in the last few days in Chennai, and the match commissioner was forced to delay kickoff by fifteen minutes. When the match did start, it was Chennaiyin FC, who started better and were duly rewarded with a goal in the ninth minute.
Stiven Mendoza was again on hand to break the deadlock, as he took his tally to eleven for the season, after the Mumbai City FC defence was still in a state of shock from Bruno Pelissaria s attempt in their previous attack. Zakeera s measured pass in the very next Super Machansa attack found the Colombian forward, who slotted it home with great aplomb.
Mumbai City FC again found out that luck has deserted them this season, when in the 17th minute, Thoi Singh’ ball inside the box stopped in no mana s land due to a puddle and Jeje Lapekhlua had an easy tap-in to double the Chennaiyin FC lead.
Thoi was again the provider just before half time for Bernard Mendy, as his delicate chip was enough to beat Subrata Paul to triple the lead.
With the ground conditions worsening, Chennaiyin FC were happy to play on the counter with injuries forcing manager Marco Materazzi to use caution, after losing both Raphael Augusto and Thoi Singh.
The Blue Devils had gone into an attacking overdrive, but failed to make any headway into the miserly Chennaiyin FC defence, as they bowed out of the tournament. The . Super Machans though would be more concerned with the injuries to Augusto and Thoi ahead of their semi-final matches.
Image Courtesy: ISL Media
