The Marina Machans welcomed the Juggernauts with the goal of sparking the club’s playoff ambitions once more this season, a fixture that ignited their journey to the playoffs the previous season. Wilmar Jordan gave his team a 2-0 lead with two goals, but Chennaiyin FC faltered in the closing minutes and ended up with a 2-2 tie. From Shields’ brilliance to Rahul’s acrobatic attempt, let’s take a look at some of the game’s major moments.
Owen Coyle made two changes to the team that lost 4-2 against Bengaluru FC in the last match. Mandar was replaced by Ankit Mukherjee, who made his first appearance since recovering from the injury. Jordan started as a striker with Chima, replacing Farukh. Sergio Lobera made three changes, including bringing in Rohit Kumar to replace the suspended Jahouh. Delgado took Thoiba’s spot in defence, and Rahul KP, a recent addition, took Jerry’s place in the attack.
Odisha FC got the opening chance of the game when Rahul KP was awarded a free kick outside the 18-yard area. Boumous effort from the set-piece reached Mourtada Fall at the far post, but the ball went out for a goal kick. Lukas was giving the Odisha defenders some problems with his excellent through passes to Jordan and Chima, the forwards.
Odisha got their finest opportunity of the match about 20 minutes into the match when they broke in a 4v3 counterattack. Boumous passed the ball to an unmarked Rohit Kumar inside the penalty box, but Kumar’s effort went straight into the palms of Nawaz. Chennaiyin had their bestopportunity before to the first half water break when Wilmar Jordan Gil headed Connor Shields’ free kick narrowly over the goal at the far post.
Odisha played some fantastic football, moving the ball around well until Boumous flicked the ball to Rahul KP in the perfect position, but Bikash made a crucial interception before Rahul could unleash his effort. Minutes later, Dorileton made a fantastic move and fired a strong shot that missed the mark. Lukas took down Jerry right outside the box and received a yellow card for the challenge in the 40th minute. Puitea was booked for fouling Chima, making him the second man in the book. First half ended 0-0.
Going into the second half, Owen Coyle made one substitution, introducing Mandar at left-back in place of Ankit. Lukas’s spectacular strike from outside the box put the Marina Machans on the offensive right immediately, forcing Amrinder to make a diving save. Three minutes into the second half, Wilmar Jordan gave the hosts the lead. Connor Shields capitalised on Amrinder’s mispass, winning the ball back and making a fantastic move into the penalty box before passing it to Jordan, who tapped it into the back of the net.
Minutes later, Jordan increased the Marina Machans’ advantage, with Connor Shields once again creating the goal. Shields sprinted forward, this time from the left side, and passed the ball to an unmarked Jordan, who only needed to put it in the goal. Odisha had an opportunity to equalise when Boumous made a wonderful run forward and passed to Rahim, who cut in and unleashed a shot, but Nawaz was up to the challenge.
Lobera immediately made three changes, adding Thoiba, Mauricio, and Jerry. Jordan produced exquisite football just after the hour mark, passing a brilliant ball to Lukas out wide and running to the far post in search of a Brambilla cross. When the cross came in, Jordan had an open header to complete his hat trick but was denied by the woodwork. Mauricio almost pulled one back for the visitors with a close-range shot, but Dinliana made a fantastic intervention to deny the Brazilian.
After Bikash was hurt and hobbled off the pitch, Vignesh replaced him. With about a quarter of the game remaining, Shields produced a fantastic through pass to Jordan, but the striker was unable to capitalise and score a hat trick. Out of nowhere, the hosts surrendered a simple goal when Mauricio was allowed to sprint by and pass the ball to Dorielton, who just tapped the ball in.
The Chennaiyin squad appeared committed to maintaining the scoreline by making several critical interceptions, even though the Odisha attack made many efforts to equalize. At the conclusion of the second half, eight further minutes were added. With a left-footed volley from just outside the box, Mauricio came close to giving the visitors an equalizer, but the crossbar denied him.
With two minutes left on the clock, Boumous delivered a fantastic cross to Mauricio inside the box. The latter’s attempt was well saved by Nawaz, but the rebound fell right to Rahul KP, whose acrobatic effort deflected off Nawaz and into the back of the net. Despite having a great game, Chennaiyin drew the match and maybe lost their chances of making the playoffs this season.
Seeing how his team bottled the two-goal lead and having to accept a draw would leave Owen Coyle in complete despair. In a match that appeared to be perfect for winning all three points, the Chennaiyin defense failed to hold up once more. While Sergio Lobera would be pleased to return with a point, he will undoubtedly be concerned with his team’s performance and the way they let up the goals.
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