Late goal helps home team Chennaiyin FC salvage a point

Maybe, it’s because of its inherent nature to keep the spectators on tenterhooks, making their heart skip several beats along the way, until the last possible second that makes football such a compelling spectacle. What Rafi’s header did was it kept the top four standings intact, with Chennaiyin remaining third on 28 points closely followed by Jamshedpur on 26 points.

A win for Chennaiyin would have gone a long way in establishing the identity of the second semi-finalist but as it stands the suspense will linger for a while longer. Regardless of the two points it dropped on Sunday, it requires a calamity of epic proportions for Chennaiyin to not be playing in the semi-final. The outcome was such that it had both the managers smiling and embracing at the end but it was the home team’s manager John Gregory who walked away with a radiant smile, something that is reserved for winning matches that have a lot more riding on them. 

Chennaiyin, which was playing catch-up for the most part, earned a spate of corner kicks towards the end, but apart from getting the partisan crowd excited nothing came of them until Rafi’s perfectly placed header off another substitute Rene Mihelic’s corner in the 89th minute had the gathering go berserk. 

Earlier, Jamshedpur took the lead through a brilliant volley from the Brazilian midfielder Wellington Priori in the 32nd minute that left everyone other than his own entourage stunned. Incidentally, it was also this season’s 200th goal. Jamshedpur’s centre back from Cameroon, Andre Bikey put in a splendid show as he expertly neutralised Jeje Lalpekhlua’s threat that is rapidly on the wane. With Jeje being the lone recognised striker for Chennaiyin, it’s imperative that he rediscover his goal-scoring form heading into the play-off’s, should Chennaiyin get there. Another downside for the host after a gritty showing is the unavailability of its defensive mainstay Mailson Alves for the crucial away game against Kerala Blasters as he amassed four yellow cards this season.

Gregory praised the tenacity of his team and said the result was as good as a win. “I’m delighted with the result. Seeing the way how we played in the second-half, we deserved all three points. It was an incredible performance from my team. This is the fourth game we have played in a span of 12 days and the players were switchedon and focused till the end,” said Gregory.