Jamshedpur, Jan 7 (PTI) Chennaiyin FC conceded twice before staging a second-half comeback against Jamshedpur FC to seal a 2-2 draw in the Indian Super League on Saturday.
In a game where a win would have put them one point off the final playoff spot, Chennaiyin FC were kept at bay by the home side despite dominating possession and creating more chances, and had to ultimately settle for a point.
In the day’s second match, in Bhubaneswar, Diego Mauricio continued his fine form, bagging his second brace for Odisha FC in as many games as they put an end to their four-game winless streak to move into fifth place on the table with a 3-1 win over East Bengal.
Odisha FC fell behind early in the first half but gave their home support much to cheer about as they outscored East Bengal FC for the remainder of the game.
Cleiton Silva, who is now the leading goalscorer of the season, put East Bengal FC in front in the 10th minute after capitalising on Odisha FC goalkeeper Amrinder Singh’s mistake.
But the hosts fought back to have the last laugh.
In the day’s first game, Jamshedpur FC took the lead in the 17th minute thanks to a finely worked team goal. Rafael Crivellaro played a give-and-go with Daniel Chukwu before threading a fine through ball onto the path of Ritwik Das, whose shot crawled past Samik Mitra.
Das got his second of the night in the 57th minute with a brilliant individual effort. Once again, the goal came against the run of play. Das received the ball on the left wing, went on the outside before cutting back in, and curled the ball into the top corner. There was a clinical edge to Jamshedpur FC’s performance.
Vincy Barretto, who had looked quite lively all game, got one back for Chennaiyin FC in the 60th minute with a calmly placed bottom-corner finish. It wasn’t the cleanest of sequences – there was a deflection and ricochet in the lead-up to the goal before the ball found its way to Barretto.
Chennaiyin FC levelled the scores in the 68th minute. Aakash Sangwan played a great cross from the left wing once again, and Petar Sliskovic got ahead of his man to slot the ball home with a deflected effort. There was no grand finish, however. Both sides had a few half chances before the final whistle was blown but had to ultimately settle for a 2-2 draw.
The draw meant that Chennaiyin FC stayed in seventh place with 15 points, four points behind the final playoff spot. They will face Hyderbad FC on January 12 to try and keep their playoff hopes alive.
Jamshedpur FC will travel to Kolkata to face East Bengal FC on January 13.
Source: PTI News
