Chennaiyin FC, Goa split points in exhilarating four-goal thriller

CHENNAI: Chennaiyin FC came from behind to hold FC Goa to an enthralling 2-2 draw in the Indian Super League (ISL) at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium here on Thursday.

Owen Coyle’s men took the early lead through Jordan Wilmar Gil but it was cancelled out by Udanta Singh before the break. The second half saw the visitor go up through Armando Sadiku’s spot-kick but Daniel Chima Chukwu restored parity for the Marina Machans.

The host started the game with complete authority as it made some vicious attacks in the first quarter. The Marina Machans had three cracks at the goal in the 11th minute when Lukas Brambilla’s initial effort was blocked, but the ball ricocheted and reached Gil. The Colombian was also denied but Connor Shields picked up the loose ball yet unfortunately, his long-range effort struck the crossbar. They redeemed themselves seconds later by taking the lead. Initially, Brambilla’s shot was blocked haphazardly by Jay Gupta as the ball rebounded off Gil and ended up in the back of the net.

After conceding, the Gaurs tried to push forward in search of a breakthrough, but lacked the final touch in the penalty area. Just when FC Goa was growing into the game, it suffered a major setback with Borja Herrera’s injury closer to the drinks break. Manolo Marquez turned to Armando Sadiku, thereby tweaking his formation.

The change brought some momentum for the visitor as it showed more hunger in attack looking for the equalizer. It had a couple of golden opportunities falling for Carl McHugh, who despite being unmarked failed to hit the target with his headers.

Eventually, Manolo’s men found the equalizer right at the stroke of half-time when Aakash Sangwan, with his beautiful cross from the left, found Udanta Singh in space. The 28-year-old shouldered the ball past Samik Mitra to pull the scores level.