Margao: Swiss recruit Jan Muzangu scored the match-winner in the injury time as defending champions Chennai City FC beat Churchill Brothers 2-1 in an I-League clash here on Sunday.
It was goal-less till the 84th minute but the match turned on its head after that with three goals coming in the last six and four minutes of added time.
Katsumi Yusa gave the defending champions the lead against the run of play in the 85th minute, which was neutralised two minutes later by Mizo striker Mapuia’s third of the season.
Muzangu then put it beyond the hosts, with his first goal of the I-League with the game already well into additional time.
The win took Chennai to 14 points from 10 games while Churchill have 13 from nine.
Churchill had an early sight at goal in the second minute of the game when a Dawda Cessay free-kick could not find a good connection.
Chennai were slowly beginning to find their feet in the game. A Jan Muzangu run in the 20th was dangerously penetrative.
Although the Red Devils had the better of chances, just before the half closed out, it was the visitors who came close to taking the lead, with Spanish striker Fito Miranda curling one in with the left from yet another free-kick, but was unlucky to hit the side-netting.
Chennai had the lion’s share of possession but the home side had more shots on target till the half-way stage.
Churchill’s Trinidadian striker Willis Plaza, subdued in the first half, got the first good chance of the second, as Portuguese Socrates Pedro played him inside the box in the 49th, but his chip over the keeper was clipped by Santana’s outstretched palm before Eslava cleared for safety.
Cessay also had a crack four minutes later and in the 63rd, and Plaza again hit the cross-bar with a header as the home side were clearly displaying urgency for a winner.
Coach Tavarez expectedly threw in the likes of Israel Gurung and Mapuia to help out the trio of Cessay, Pedro and Plaza up front in their pursuit of a winner.
With the clock showing 85 minutes, Fito put in a delectable ball from just inside the Churchill half and found the run of Katsumi to perfection. The gutsy Japanese made no mistake with a clinical finish past Kithan.
Churchill struck back two minutes later. Glan Martins found Plaza inside the box, who squared it to Ponif Vaz over on the right flank. Ponif’s cross saw Mapuia rise above his marker to lob a header over Santana and into the Chennai goal.
However, there was drama left. In the third minute of injury time, Vijay played through Muzangu, and the latter raced inside the box, getting past one defender and away from another, to slot it past Kithan and break the heart of the home fans.
PTI
