Chennai: Defending champions Chennaiyin FC rode on first half goals from Hans Mulder and Mehrajuddin Wadoo to beat FC Goa City 2-0 in a match of ISL-3 here Thursday. This was their first win in the ongoing edition of the competition.
The goals came in the 15th and 26th minutes respectively to take Marco Materazzi’s side to the fifth position in the ISL points table with four points from three games. Their third successive loss left Goa at the bottom with of the table.
However it was FC Goa who could have gone ahead when Fulganco Cardozo’s long ball was bungled by goalkeeper Karanjit Singh but Reinaldo Oliveira couldn’t maintain his balance while taking the shot.
The deadlock was broken in the 15th minute as Mulder collected a ball from Raphael Augusto just outside the box, kept his calm and placed the ball past a diving Goa goalkeeper Laxmikant Kattimani even before the defenders could react.
Chennaiyin doubled the tally in the 26th minute, and this time they were a bit fortunate to get the goal. Skipper Mehrajuddin’s intended cross took a wicked deflection off Goa defender Richard Dumas, and entered the goal past a hapless Kattimani.
In the second session, Goa coach Zico tried to change the equation with a flurry of attacking changes but Chennaiyin FC defended in numbers.
Press Trust of India