Chennaiyin FC registered their third win of the season in the first game of the evening against Odisha FC, whereas the match between FC Goa and Hyderabad FC ended in a draw.
In an all-exciting double-header on Saturday, Chennaiyin FC registered a much-needed win in their fixture against Odisha FC, which was their first win of the month after three consecutive games of dropping points. Hyderabad FC were held imperiously by a high-flying Goa unit, who themselves could’ve had a win but settled for a draw.
In the first game of the evening, Germanpreet Singh got the first goal of the evening for Chennaiyin FC by slotting home from close range. Odisha couldn’t do much with the ball in control, and lacked that finesse in the final third to get anywhere close to the goal. Javi Hernandez drew a couple of good saves from Vishal Kaith, but couldn’t do more than that.
The former champions managed to keep that lead intact heading into the half-time break, and in the second half, we saw a few sensational goals that raised the roof. Mirlan Murzaev had been threatening to break the deadlock with his passing right from the beginning of second half, and did so by shooting in a sensational effort from outside the box to give Chennaiyin a 2-0 lead.
Lukasz Gikiewicz missed a penalty in the final minute of normal time for Chennaiyin, but this proved to be sufficient on the day for the men in blue, who were clinical in every department. However, a clean sheet wasn’t possible on the day and it was denied by Javi Hernandez. His shot from long-range managed to find the top-left corner, and despite it being a goal-and-a-half in quality, it remained just a consolation.
In the other fixture, Hyderabad FC and Goa played out a thrilling encounter, one that saw chances galore at both ends. Both sides pressed high up the pitch and produced high-octane football, and as it turns out, there was no separating them on the day.
The first half did not have any goals, but as many as four yellow cards were issued. The likes of Hitesh Sharma and Edu Bedia came close to scoring for their respective units in the first 45, but remained a few feet away.
Joel Chianese had been threatening to make a fruitful contribution all day long, and it was fitting that the first goal of the game came from his touch. Nikhil Poojary provided a brilliant cross, which Chianese met from close range and slotted home to provide them a lead, which as it turned out, was just momentary.
Bartholomew Ogbeche drew a fantastic save almost immediately, and it looked like Hyderabad might get another in the rush. But against the run of play, Airam Cabrera scored for Goa to level things up, after which, the hosts had upped the ante.
The game saw a frantic end-to-end finish, which included a blinder of a save from Kattimani to deny FC Goa three points, but it eventually ended 1-1. This is FC Goa’s worst start in the ISL since the inception of the tournament and they are keen on bettering this run.
