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CFC skipper Ryan Edwards put the hosts in front in the 60th minute before Nathan Rodrigues pulled the Islanders level shortly after as the teams played out a 1-1 draw at the Marina Arena.
CFC’s Ryan Edwards celebrating after scoring against MCFC at Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, Chennai on Saturday. (Image: ISL)
Chennaiyin FC and Mumbai City FC shared honours in a landmark ISL fixture at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in Chennai on Saturday.
CFC skipper Ryan Edwards put the hosts in front in the 60th minute before Nathan Rodrigues pulled the Islanders level shortly after as the teams played out a 1-1 draw at the Marina Arena in the league’s millennia game.
Remarks of the landmark 1000th ISL game filled the arena while the Chennai ultras did their part with banners that read ‘Idhu Chennaiyin qilla’ (This is Chennai’s Fortress, but also with a linguistic easter egg in there).
Chennaiyin boss Owen Coyle opted to field Mohammad Nawaz in goal, behind the defensive lineup of Ryan Edwards, Laldinpuia, Laldinliana and Bikash Yamnam. Elsinho was deployed in the middle of the park with Vincy Barreto, Connor Shields, Farukh Choudhary and Irfan Yadawad in advanced roles. Wilmar Jordan Gil led the line for the hosts in front of a boisterous Marina Arena.
Petr Kratsky opted for Purbha Lachenpa in between the sticks with Valpuia, Tiri, Mehtab Singh and Nathan Rodrigues in defense. Yoell Van Nieff, Brandon Fernandes, and Jeremy Manzarro were in midfield while Lalrinzuala Chhangte, Bipin Singh and Nikolas Karelis started as forwards.
The sides fought for control of the ball in an attempt to exercise early control of the game that had the potential to lift either side significantly higher up in the table with the defences reigning supreme in wading away any noteworthy threat in the budding phase of the game.
The opening period picked up pace around the half-hour mark as the hosts pushed forward trying to threaten the Islanders’ altar. Their forays yielded loud cheers from the home faithful but did not affect the scoreboard. However, they had forced the visitors’ to concede corners which evoked raucous ovation from the stands, but Kratky’s men sniffed out the danger.
The Islanders turned to attack in the final minutes of the first essay as they worked the right channel well to pose a danger to Coyle’s backline. The Chennaiyin core held its shape and looked to hit on the counter, but they ended up a beat late pushing ahead and the Islanders got back in the nick of time to keep the game goalless.
Halftime activations challenging demanding precision from three fans in order to get the ball to the half line from the danger area was a refreshing addition especially with the presenter’s comic mix-up of words while addressing the B Stand Blues (Darling her, she called them Blue Stand B’s).
Jayesh Rane replaced Fernandes in midfield for MCFC as Kratky made his first change of the evening as the second phase of the fixture got off to a brisk start from the hosts who pressed high up the field.
Mumbai tried to withstand the pressure but conceded a free-kick around 35 yards from goal as the hosts frustrated the Islanders. Shields stepped up to take the set piece and delivered a brilliant curling cross in the far end of the box finding skipper Edwards, who nodded the ball over the line off the far post to evoke noise in the cauldron at the hour mark.
However, the lead evaporated in a matter of minutes as Van Nieff’s corner was headed into the back of the net by Rodrigues to restore parity.
Elsinho and Farukh were replaced by Lukas Brambilla and Lalrinliana Hnamte by Coyle while Kratksy tried to counter it with the withdrawal of Titi and Bipin in favour of Thaer Krouma and Noufal.
A deft touch in the technical area by coach Coyle was cheered as Chennaiyin went in search of the strike to get back in front. Wilmar Jordan was replaced by Daniel Chukwu Cheema after seventy minutes of play and everything still to play for.
The game ebbed and flowed through the final quarter as Chukwu connected acrobatically with a cross from the right, but did not manage to beat Lachenpa. MCFC surged forward and came close to getting the winner deep in second-half stoppage time, but the attempt bounced narrowly wide of the mark as the sides ended up sharing spoils on the day.