ISL 2023-24: Chennaiyin rules the roost with an injury-time comeback against Mohun Bagan SG
Chennaiyin FC came up with a spectacular second-half performance to stun home favourite Mohun Bagan Super Giant 3-2 in matchweek-20 of the Indian Super League (ISL) 10 at the Salt Lake Stadium here on Sunday.
Joni Kauko gave Mohun Bagan the lead in the first half but Chennaiyin turned the match on its head after the break when it scored two quick goals with Jordan Murray and Ryan Edwards finding the net in a span of eight minutes.
Mohun Bagan neutralised Chennaiyin’s lead (2-2) off a penalty by Dimitri Petratos in the second half injury time but Chennaiyin substitute Irfan Yadwad ensured that Chennaiyin bagged the full quota of points by producing the winner off a counterattack towards the fag end of the injury time.
AS IT HAPPENED: Mohun Bagan SG vs Chennaiyin FC Highlights
The win saw Chennaiyin tally 21 points from 19 matches and jump to ninth spot in the current league standings. Mohun Bagan’s league shield hopes suffered a big blow as it missed the chance to reach the top and remained in the second spot – behind Mumbai City FC (on 41 points), with 39 points from 19 matches.
Mohun Bagan took control of the proceedings right after the start and probed the Chennaiyin defence frequently.
Mohun Bagan realized the lead in the 29th minute as its Finnish international, Kauko, found the mark by latching on to a Liston Colaco cross.
This came after the Chennaiyin goalkeeper Debjit Majumder had pulled off a fine save to deny Colaco a chance from close in the 19th minute.
Mohun Bagan made the error of seeing Chennaiyin as a lesser opponent after the break and tried to preserve the one-goal lead. But the Marina Machans grabbed the initiative towards the end, finding the equaliser off Murray and taking the lead with an Edwards header.
And then, super-sub Yadwad netted the winner with a counterattack shortly after Petratos looked to have levelled the contest for the host side.
While Murray sparked the turnaround for Chennaiyin by stepping up his team’s performance in the attacking third, goalkeeper Debjit came up with some nice saves towards the end to deny the host the chance to make a comeback.
Mohun Bagan, on the contrary, suffered because of its goalkeeper Vishal Kaith’s lax vigil in the goal. He was found lacking in his job significantly as his slipshod performance resulted in Mohun Bagan conceding easily.