FC Goa took ample advantage of Chennaiyin FC’s laxity in the first session to script a thrilling 4-3 win in the Indian Super League match here on Thursday.
The three goals conceded in the first 45 minutes put paid to the hopes of the host in the end analysis. Those were due to either rank bad mis-passes or sub-standard defending. Trailing 3-0, Chennaiyiin fought really well to score two quick goals in the second session and one more towards the final moments of the match, but those weren’t enough.
The contest saw 11 yellow and two red cards being flashed. Edwin Vanspaul (Chennaiyin) and Sergio Lobero (head coach of Goa) picked up red cards.
With this win, Goa took its tally to 21 points from 10 matches to remain at the top while Chennaiyin is at eighth position with nine points from nine encounters.
For the first 20-odd minutes, even though Goa had more ball possession, Chennaiyin clearly had the edge in attack. Rafael Crivellaro with his link-up play with Andre Schembri and Lallianzuala Chhangte created quite a few heart-stopping moments.
Goa scored first. A Tondonba Singh back-pass found Ferran Corominas, who ran past from the right to pass it to Hugo Boumous. The Frenchman then neatly passed it to Ahmed Jahouh and the Moroccon’s right-footer gave little chance to the ‘keeper Vishal Kaith.
The next two goals were in large part due to the error in judgement of the host captain Lucian Goian. First, a back-pass from Edwin Vanspaul saw the Italian central defender fail to collect the ball properly. As a result, Brandon Fernandes had enough time to put it across the ‘keeper.
Later Goian hardly made any effort to stop a ball from the right as it landed straight to Hugo Boumous who converted.
A header from Andre Schembri off a corner from Crivellaro and a fine left-footer by latter reduced the margin for Chennaiyin. But Corominas hit the final nail on the coffin with a clean strike. A through pass by Jahouh saw Corominas take the ball with the Chennaiyin defence slowing down asking the linesman for off-side. But by the time, the Spaniard had already done the damage.
Crivellaro’s curving left-footer gave a faint glimmer of hope for the host, but all went down the drain due to lethargic moments in the first half.
The result: Chennaiyin FC 3 (Andre Schembri 57, Rafael Crivellaro 59 & 90) lost to FC Goa 4 (Ahmed Jahouh 26, Brandon Fernandes 41, Hugo Boumous 45, Ferran Corominas 63).
