Chennaiyin FC were held to a 2-2 draw by a struggling SC East Bengal side in Indian Super League at the Tilak Maidan, Vasco.
Matti Steinmann scored a brace in the game. His first goal canceled out Lallianzuala Chhangte’s opener. Then he equalized soon after Rahim Ali put the Machans ahead again in the second half.
The Kolkata giants moved up to tenth in the Indian Super League table with their third draw in seven games. Whereas, Chennaiyin failed to move up to the top half as they remained seventh with 9 points.
East Bengal 2-2 Chennaiyin FC Team News:
East Bengal coach Robbie Fowler fielded the same side he played in the 1-1 draw against Kerala Blasters. Debjit Mazumder started on goal. Bikash Jairu, Scott Neville, Danny Fox and Surchandra formed the defence which conceded 13 goals so far.
However, to solidify the defence, Fowler played three midfielders with Steinmann and Sehnaj as a double pivot and Haobam in front of them. The front three included Rafique and Maghoma with Pilkington on top.
Chennaiyin started the game in a 4-3-3 formation. Vishal Kaith started in goal with Tangri, Sabia, Sipovic, Jerry in front of him. Memo Moura, Anirudh Thapa and Crivallero formed the midfield of Csaba Laszlo’s side. Chhangte, Rahim and Sylvestr completed the team.
East Bengal 2-2 Chennaiyin FC Analysis:
East Bengal started the game with good attacking intent. However, the Machans picked up the pace soon and opened the scoring from Chhangte in the 13th minute. Rafique failed to score after finding himself one on one with the keeper 10 minutes from half-time. Chennaiyin also created a few chances but failed to take advantage.
In the second half, the Machans started brightly again and a header was put wide by Sylvestr from a corner. Then Fowler’s side started moving forward. However, they couldn’t break the Chennai defence at first. But just before the hour mark, Steinmann headed in from a corner. Laszlo’s side responded almost instantaneously.
Rahim Ali pounced on an error by Bikash Jairu to put Chennai in front again. But again Steinmann equalized minutes later following another set-piece. Towards the end, Debjit made a fine save and Scott Neville missed an easy header.
“We are trying and giving our everything. At times we are a little bit hesitant while defending. We have shown that we can score goals. We’re not a million miles away from where we need to be”
Robbie Fowler
“We lost two points. It was very hard to get these points because when we create chances we have to score and this is something we are currently missing. We need to be self-critical of our performance. We created chances but could not score so I am disappointed”
Csaba Laszlo
Notable Performances:
Matti Steinmann: The German midfielder played a fine game and scored a brace. He was also solid in the middle of the park. Certainly, a true man of the match performance by him.
Lallianzuala Chhangte: The youngster opened his scoring account in this season’s ISL on Saturday. Coach Csaba Laszlo praised the winger and said he deserved the goal.
“I have been working individually with Chhangte and the goal he scored is something he deserved. I know that he will continue to score goals”
Csaba Laszlo
East Bengal will face Odisha FC in the new year and Chennaiyin will face ATK Mohun Bagan on Tuesday.
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