Chennaiyin FC finally opened their account in the Indian Super League 2015 — and it was just like last year, at the Fatorda stadium against FC Goa. Last year it was a hard fought 2-1 win. This time though, they did it in style with a 4-0 thrashing, with hat-trick hero John Stiven Mendoza and the evergreen Elano Blumer banging in the goals.
Here are eight takeaways from the game as last year’s table toppers got back to winning ways after losing their first two matches:
A complete team performance: What was more important than the four goals scored was the clean sheet. That is not to take away from a brilliant attacking display which started at the first whistle.
Chennaiyin harried the Goan defenders relentlessly, forcing mistakes and constantly retrieving possession. Some of their one touch passing was excellent and all their goals involved at the least one exquisite pass. If it was Elano’s through ball for the first, the second had a Mailson Alves long ball finding the inimitable Thoi Singh on the right. The third was again from Elano, this time drawing the defenders before letting Mendoza into acres of space. The final one was an inch perfect cross from Bruno Pelissari.
The support cast also did their job with each of them pulling in their weight at some point or the other. Not one player had a bad day at office.
Mendoza shows his class: His first goal may have an element of fortune involved, with the Goa goalkeeper fluffing his save, but the other two finishes were sumptuous.
The beautiful dink for the second goal and the brilliant touch to control Pelissari’s cross from the right before firing in a volley were both truly a sight to behold. With three goals from nine shots on target, Mendoza should be among the contenders for the Golden Boot already. He might have had four, but for his tame finish in the first few minutes.
His constant pressing in the first fifteen minutes also kept the pressure mounted on Goa. Later when he was obviously tired from running around, Jayesh Rane took over the hustling while Mendoza dropped deeper in midfield to intercept passes whenever possible. The fluidity between him and Rane was really encouraging — and Chennaiyin seems to have finally found the replacement for Jeje Lalpekhlua, just when he is expected to be back.
Jayesh Rane the multi-tasker: Rane operated in the first twenty minutes more like a left winger constantly swapping positions with the diminutive Sena Ralte. Surprisingly, he was the one who cleared the first meaningful chance from Keenan Almeida that Goa had, filling in at left back.
He had an early chance to score and his calm pass to Elano for the second goal spoke much about his composure. He might have had his first goal after getting into a brilliant position had it not been for Mendoza who was selfish to shoot rather than pass, late in the first half.
Rane is willing to constantly track back, allowing the likes of Mendoza to stay up for the break.
Elano is back: The signs were ominous when two of his early through balls found the strikers, but couldn’t be converted. The third one eventually was.
Elano was more accommodating today, bringing in the fullbacks into play whenever possible. His first goal from open play this year was a treat to watch with a passing move from the defence culminating in a side footed finish. His pace to set up Mendoza’s second goal, belied his age. If Mendoza provided the polishing, Elano was the grand architect.
FC Goa simply never turned up for the match: The match against Atletico de Kolkata seems to have sapped Goa of their energy. The defence was constantly split open and twice they were caught ball watching at the edge of their penalty area while Mendoza took his own sweet time to find an overlapping teammate.
Apart from Leo Moura, none of Goa’s players seemed to have a clue as to how to take the ball forward. Later, substitute CS Sabeeth showed more heart. Apart from these two, they simply lacked the intent. Yes, they were unfortunate to have been waved down for a probable penalty, with the scoreline reading 0-2 and having been disallowed what seems to be a clear goal — but they thoroughly deserved the thrashing.
Poor game for the referees: Sena Ralte was fortunate not to have been penalised for what looked like a clear foul.
Goal line technology for ISL sounds way overhead alright, but a goal line referee is surely possible with some decisions making the headlines in the opening stages. Atletico coach Antonio Habas has also been fined for being vocal about this.
Apart from the penalty, FC Goa had a goal disallowed when the ball clearly pitched inside the line. The disallowed goal may not have changed the result, but the penalty, if awarded, might have.
Bernard Mendy has lost his pace: Sena Ralte could have been the culprit for the supposed penalty, but the real reason he actually made the tackle was Mendy’s lack of cover. The Frenchman’s positional reading in the game was amazing with some of his trademark interceptions. But there’s no doubt he has lost his pace and needs to restrain himself from committing to tackles, putting his colleagues in jeopardy. On another day with a different scoreline, this might have come back to bite Chennaiyin.
Bruno Pelissari deserves to be in first XI: Pelissari staked his claims with a superb assist to Mendoza’s third. The only stumbling block for him is that there is none else other than Elano he can replace. Chennaiyin’s not so sure defence needs the three rotating shields in Thoi, Raphael Augusto and Harmanjot Khabra so unless Marco Materazzi opts to start with a solo frontman or Elano gets injured this season, it still looks very unlikely that Bruno might start another match for Chennaiyin. Despite deserving to start.
