Chennaiyin FC continued their perfect start to the new Indian Super League season with a 2-1 win against NorthEast United. It was a unique match that saw three Indian goalscorers scoring for their respective teams. However, goals from Lallianzuala Chhangte and Anirudh Thapa helped Chennaiyin propel against the Highlanders.
Chhangte scored a wonder goal to open the scoring for the Marina Machans. But a blunder from Vishal Kaith saw a VP Suhair header bulge the back of the net restoring parity for the Highlanders. Just when people thought that the match will end in a draw a great ball from Ariel Borysiuk freed Thapa on the run as he slotted it past Subhasish Roy Chowdhury.
Despite two good strikes from Indian players, Chennaiyin FC head coach Bozidar Bandovic calls for improvement in the attack. Bandovic wants his players to show more quality. When asked about his attackers, the Montenegrin said, “I’m really happy. But in football, it’s not only attacking, there is also defending. We needed to be aggressive when we didn’t have the ball and I’m happy that we did it. This cannot be changed in a short period. There are no shortcuts, we need more time to improve and we need to work more tactically and physically.”
Chennaiyin have been excellent in defence in the last two matches. However, they conceded a cheap goal courtesy of a Vishal Kaith howler from a thrown in as Suhair took advantage of the chance. But Bozidar wants his players to be not afraid of making mistakes. He feels that mistakes help people improve their game. “I believe we defend very well. There were some individual mistakes, but this happens. What I want is for my players to not be afraid to make mistakes. If you don’t make mistakes, you don’t improve and you can’t find out where you can reach. What is important for me is that we learn from our mistakes. If the players bring me the results, I’ll support them all the way.”
The Marina Machans have been far from exceptional in the last two matches but they are looking to continue their winning run against SC East Bengal, whom they face next in the ISL.
