Chennai Customs scores thumping win over ICF in CFA Senior Division League

Goals from Sasi Kumar, Sriram and Vijay helped Customs collect three points from the contest. Both teams looked shaky in the first half, squandering a few half-chances with miscued shots. None of the players was on target, with the game remaining goalless at the end of the first half. 

Customs got off to a brisk start in the second half, as Dhilipan hit a powerful header, a shot which was saved by ICF goalkeeper Agastin. 

Agastin, red-carded against Reserve Bank of India, was in action again as he saved another shot a few minutes later. Sasi Kumar finally put his name on the scoresheet in the 66th minute as he slotted the ball home from a long range attempt which went to the right side of the goalkeeper. It then doubled its lead 11 minutes later as Sriram put the ball into the bottom right corner of the net. Despite making a couple of good saves within a minute, Agastin couldn’t stop Customs from having a two-goal advantage going into the final phase of the game. 

Vijay then added to ICF’s misery by scoring another in stoppage time by running past a few defenders. Had it not been for Agastin’s heroics, ICF would have lost by a much bigger margin. Not only did Customs win by three goals but it also managed to keep a clean sheet. Sasi Kumar was presented the Man of the Match award. Customs coach Grand Durai Pandian looked satisfied with the win but he felt his team could have scored more. “We were locked by our opposition in the midfield in the first half. We could have scored a lot more after the way we attacked. We improved our game in the second. There is still room for further improvement in the upcoming games,” said Pandian. In another match, Prabakaran scored in added time to help Hindustan Eagles beat Chennai United 2-1. 

RESULTS: Chennai Customs 3 (Sasi Kumar 66, Sriram 77, Vijay 90+1) beat Integral Coach Factory 0; Hindustan Eagles 2 (Prabakaran 53, 90+3) beat Chennai United FC 1 (Sivasakshi 27)