Dynamos defuse Chennaiyin

Chennaiyin FC made one change from their match against Atletico de Kolkata giving Nigerian striker Dudu Omagbemi a start instead of Davide Succi. The teams started on a relentless attacking mode and Dynamos were the first to break the deadlock in the 26th minute. 

A howler by Chennaiyin goalkeeper Duwayne Kerr to bring down Delhi’s Milan Singh resulted in the referee pointing to the spot.  Brazilian Marcelo Pereira sent Kerr the wrong way in the resulting penalty as the ball rocketed into the net. Chennaiyin restored parity by the half-hour mark when Jeje Lalpekhlua found Dudu with a perfect through ball and the Nigerian striker unleashed a bullet shot past the Dynamos goalkeeper Antonio Doblas. Doblas got a hand to it but in vain. 

Dynamos snatched the lead again within minutes when Richard Gadze sent a short pass through the two centre-backs to Marcelo. With Chennaiyin FC custodian Kerr off his line, the striker found the back of the net with ease. Chennaiyin left-back and local boy Nallappan Mohanraj, clueless again, should have done better to track the striker’s assault. 

The nightmare for the home team continued as Dynamos upped the ante. They could have scored a couple more but the strikers couldn’t convert the half-chances and Dynamos walked into the tunnel with a one-goal lead. The nightmare for the local lad ended soon after the break when Materazzi substituted Mohanraj with ISL’s youngest player Jerry Lalrinzuala after the Chennai player climbed onto Marcelo, only to be promptly booked. 

Chennai pressed hard and Jeje sent a floating cross from the left to the centre of the box. Hans Mulder rushed in to connect but couldn’t, much to the disappointment of the fans and the coach. With the clock ticking, Materazzi sent Siam Hangal and Succi in search of an equaliser. Chennaiyin pressed hard but the Dynamos had the last laugh. Badara Badji, immediately after coming on for Gadze, leaped past Jerry to head in Kean Lewis’ cross to silence the Nehru Stadium and put the match to bed.