Chennai, Apr 4 (IANS): Rafael Crivellaro and Rahim Ali scored a goal each as Chennaiyin FC broke into the top-six with a terrific 2-1 victory against Jamshedpur FC where they came from behind to strike twice in the second half and win 2-1 in the Indian Super League (ISL) 2023-24 at the Jawaharlal Nehru Indoor Stadium on Thursday night.
The Marina Machans now have 24 points from 20 games, two more than Bengaluru FC (22), who have played the same number of games as the Blues. Contrastingly, the winless streak for Jamshedpur FC has now extended to four games, and the team has slipped to the ninth spot with 21 points as many games in the season. Accordingly, the Khalid Jamil-coached team has crashed out of contention for qualifying for the Playoffs this season.
The game began on a positive note for the Red Miners, with their Japanese star Rei Tachikawa finding the back of the net 22 minutes into the game. That goal arguably came against the momentum of the game for the visitors.
The Chennaiyin FC duo of Crivellaro and Jordan Murray had teased the Jamshedpur FC goalkeeper T.P. Rehenesh with some sharp efforts before the Jamshedpur FC goal. Rehenesh, making his 70th ISL appearance in Jamshedpur FC colours, the most by any player, did well to hold his guard and Tachikawa bore the fruits of the same by nodding home a cross by Muhammed Uvais from the left flank.
Crivellaro did not reduce his efforts in search of the equaliser though. Making decisive passes to the likes of Farukh Choudhary and Vincy Barretto, Chennaiyin FC really had their domestic attackers coming to the fore tonight.
True to the same, the winner was notched by Rahim Ali in the 59th minute. But before that, it was Crivallaro’s turn to draw the scores level seven minutes into the second half. Making his landmark appearance for Jamshedpur FC, Rehenesh fumbled with the ball, laying the ball in the path of Crivellaro, who pounced upon the loose delivery and slotted it into the back of the net on the top left corner.
That goal kicked off a phase of Chennaiyin FC's dominance on the offensive front. Just before the hour mark, Rahim tricked past seasoned Jamshedpur FC player Elsinho to recover possession, before breaking into the 18-yard box, showing fleet-footedness to get into a promising goal-scoring position right in the centre before hammering the ball into the bottom left corner.
Rahim was beaming with energy having come on as a substitute after Crivellaro’s goal, and that sudden burst of pace definitely caught the Jamshedpur FC backline off guard, thus extending Coyle’s run of unbeaten games against Jamshedpur FC to four matches in the ISL.
Jamshedpur FC will next play against FC Goa on April 9, whereas Chennaiyin FC will square off against NorthEast United FC on the same day.