Chennai: FC Goa saw off a stirring fightback from Chennaiyin FC as they won 3-2 in their opening match of the fourth Indian Super League (ISL) here, Sunday.
Goals from Ferran Corominas Telechea (25th minute), Manuel Lanzarote Bruno (29th) and Mandar Rao Desai (39th) exposed Chennaiyin’s weaknesses in their defensive structure in the opening half.
Down 0-3 at half time, Chennayin came roaring back as Spanish Inigo Calderon’s free-kick was poorly handled by Goan custodian Laxmikant Kattiani in the 70th minute. Raphael Augusto converted a penalty 13 minutes later to give some nervous moments to Goa but the visiting outfit managed to seal a close win.
Telechea and Brandon Fernandes led a superb counter-attack following a corner for the hosts in the 25th minute before Telechea drove to the low right corner of Karanjit Singh’s goal.
Four minutes later, the Chennaiyin goalkeeper denied Telechea before diving forward to stop Mandar Rao Desai on the left but Bruno grabbed the rebound and sent in a lob that hit the underneath of the cross-bar and went in.
Despite trailing 0-2, Chennaiyin didn’t correct the chinks in their defensive organisation. The hosts conceded their third goal in the 39th minute as Bruno turned assist-maker for Desai, who rolled the ball past Karanjit.
Chennaiyin made a fresh start after the break and upped the ante. In the 70th minute, a tame free-kick was hit straight at the Goa keeper who failed to collect the ball cleanly. It slithered out of his gloves and went in to give Chennaiyin FC a lifeline.
The hosts pounced on the defensive mindset of the visitors and Jeje was brought down inside the box, earning a penalty which was converted by Brazilian midfielder Augusto.
In the other match of the day debutants Bengaluru FC romped home with a 2-0 win over Mumbai City FC. Edu Garcia (67th) and Sunil Chhetri (90+3) were the scorers.
indo-asian news service