Chennaiyin FC trounce Kerala Blasters to register Coyle's first win

Chennai, December 21, 2019: Chennaiyin FC returned to winning ways in style, courtesy a 3-1 win over southern rivals Kerala Blasters at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium here on Friday. Andre Schembri, Lallianzuala Chhangte and Nerijus Valskis were on target in a breathless first half, with Bartholomew Ogbeche netting for the visitors. Gaffer Owen Coyle’s first win in his first home game takes CFC above KBFC in the table to eighth spot with nine points, in a game that was marred by refereeing howlers and inefficiencies.

It was a dominant show from Chennaiyin all-around, especially in a frantic first period. Coyle made two changes as Germanpreet Singh replaced Masih Saighani in midfield and Andre Schembri came in for Thoi Singh. And the hosts were out of the blocks in no time, taking the lead as early as in the fourth minute.

Attacking midfielder Rafael Crivellaro was in the thick of things immediately, bolting down the left flank as KBFC’s defence stood static. He then found Schembri with a square ball, both players in acres of space, as the Maltese forward tapped into an empty net from six yards to make it 1-0.

Despite dominating immediately after, CFC allowed KBFC to draw level after a cheap free kick was given away in the hosts’ half. Ogbeche was teed up in what was a training ground routine, the Frenchman firing home from distance with Vishal Kaith diving desperately in the CFC goal.

KBFC remained open at the back as livewire Lallianzuala Chhangte made charging runs behind the KBFC defence, causing them serious headaches. Then on 25 minutes, a bizzare series of events unfolded, leading to high drama.

The referee awarded CFC a free-kick in the middle of the park, pointing in the direction of KBFC’s goal. The KBFC players switched off as Valskis, after checking again with the referee if it was indeed CFC’s free kick, took it quickly, freeing up Schembri on the right. The latter squared it back to an open Valskis who tapped it in to make it 2-1, as the referee pointed to the center circle for the restart.

The Kerala players and technical staff went into a frenzied protest, refusing to restart the game. And that seemed to put the referee under pressure, who then consulted his linesman and reversed the initial decision to give a free kick to KBFC, thus chalking off the goal. This led to a stoppage of more than five minutes as the refereeing again raised questions in the ISL, as the decision to chalk off the goal can be interpreted to be in contravention of the laws of the game as play had restarted following the awarding of the free kick.

Pumped up by the disallowed goal, the CFC players showcased sheer aggression in scoring an incredible ten seconds later. KBFC had no idea what had hit them, as a charged up Crivellaro dinked a ball to Valskis who found Chhangte with a first-time pass. The Mizo speedster made no mistake in slotting it through keeper Rehenesh’s legs to make it 2-1. And this time the goal stood.

Fans from both sides were in a raucous mood as Chennaiyin remained in the ascendancy with the visitors failing to muster up anything at the other end. And before half-time, it was 3-1 with Chhangte again pivotal. This time Anirudh Thapa’s delightful long pass into space for Chhangte drew Rehenesh out of his area. The CFC No. 7 smartly lobbed the keeper as the ball seemed to trickle into an empty net. It however struck the upright and fell kindly for Valskis to pass into an empty net.

Half time came soon after as KBFC were forced into a change as an injured Ogbeche was replaced by Mouhamadou Gning.

CFC did tend to sit back a bit in the second period, but KBFC rarely threatened them. Valskis and Crivellaro made way for Thoi and Dragos Firtulescu respectively as the hosts kept getting chances to put the game to bed, on the break. The refereeing again took centre stage when the man in the middle waved away two clear penalty shouts against Dragos and Rahim Ali who came on for Schembri in the closing stages.

Despite bagging all three points, CFC ended the game on a sour note as Eli Sabia was sent off for a second booking. Both the yellow cards dished out to him seemed contentious on a night when Kerala Blasters’ performance and the refereeing was far from convincing.