A hotly disputed penalty decision in the 8th minute of the clash between Delhi Dynamos FC and Chennaiyin FC in the Indian Super League dominated proceedings in the post match conference at New Delhi’s Jawaharlal Nehru stadium.
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Dynamos defender Chicao set his eyes on the ball for the penalty in the absence of player-manager Roberto Carlos and slotted it calmly past the Chennaiyin keeper Edel Bete to send the crowds roaring for the home side.
Carlos had claimed his team will adopt a bold offensive approach in search of goals but his team hardly did justice to his promise in their opening match against Goa. But when the match kicked off, the 60,000 stadium was sparsely filled, a sight which will not please the former Real star. His inability to convert it into a goal made Alessandro Potenza relieved massively as it was his poor pass at the back which created the chance for Chicao.
We look at players who could make a major impact in the game for both the teams.
The second half was off to a tiresome start and lacked spark.
Chennai’s Italian coach Marco Materazzi is once again expected to start with Elano Blumer, their marquee player and Fikru Tefera to test Delhi’s defensive wall while John Stiven Mendoza may be left on the bench just like the previous game and could be used as a substitute in the second half or they may swap the two strikers with Fikru not being fully fit.
“To be honest, I am not in a position to play for the full 90 minutes”. But, it is very hard (to do that). While Dynamos were beaten by hosts FC Goa 0-2, Chennaiyin were on the receiving end of a 2-3 scoreline against defending champions Atletico de Kolkata at home. By the time we settled down, they were already ahead.
Elano was at the thick of things on a few occasions but was mostly kept at bay by ATK defenders.
All the teams underwent proper pre-season training before the second season of the ISL, but still the poor fitness level of the top players raises quite a few questions.
Delhi’s foreign export Adil Nabi had the opportunity to double the lead in injury time and received a ideal cross from the right courtesy Shylo, but the youngster slammed the ball over the net.
Materrazi, who was serving a one-match touchline ban from the last season, was not at the Chennaiyin dug-out against ATK and he is not likely to play tomorrow also if his assistant Vivek Nagul is to be believed.
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‘These three players (Robin Singh, Francis Fernandez and Sehnaj Singh) are very important players for me. “Had we not missed chances, things would have been different for us”, said Nagul.
