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  Chennaiyin close in on last-4 berth

Chennaiyin close in on last-4 berth

Published : Dec 1, 2015, 11:04 pm IST
Updated : Dec 1, 2015, 11:04 pm IST

Chennaiyin FC have a foot in the semi-finals of the Indian Super League after sinking Mumbai City FC 3-0 here on Tuesday.

Chennaiyin FC’s Jeje Lalpekhlua vies for the ball with Lalchhuanmawai Fanai of Mumbai City FC. (Photo: ISL)
 Chennaiyin FC’s Jeje Lalpekhlua vies for the ball with Lalchhuanmawai Fanai of Mumbai City FC. (Photo: ISL)

Chennaiyin FC have a foot in the semi-finals of the Indian Super League after sinking Mumbai City FC 3-0 here on Tuesday. Football was not on the mind of the city that had been reeling from monsoon deluge from the morning but a water-logged pitch couldn’t prevent the home team from raining goals for a crucial win.

Relentless rain delayed the start of the match by 15 minutes but a few thousand hardy fans of Chennaiyin didn’t have to wait long for a goal. Zakeer Mundampara, who came in for the suspended holding midfielder Harmanjot Khabra, set up Colombian hotshot Stiven Mendoza with a sumptuous through ball in the ninth minute. Mendoza, who can walk on water at the moment, rolled the ball under Mumbai goalkeeper Subrata Paul for his 11th goal of the season.

The pitch was more suitable for an aquatic sport and chasing a hopeless ball wasn’t a futile exercise at all as the spherical thing refused to roll on various pockets of water. The organisers wouldn’t have gone ahead with the match had the tournament not reached its business end because there was no respite from the rain the whole evening. Compl-eting 90 minutes was an achievement in itself.

Mendoza back-heeled Dhanachandra Singh’s left-wing cross on to the path of Jeje Lalpekhlua and the ball waited patiently for the Mizoram forward to be guided into the net. In normal conditions, the Mumbai custodian would have collected it without much ado. It was Jeje’s fourth goal of the season.

Mumbai struggled to get a sniff of Chennai’s goal in the first half. It was Chennai who continued to create clear-cut chances. Mendoza proved he was human by missing a gilt-edged chance when the score was 2-0.

Chennaiyin’s central defender Bernard Mendy chipped the ball over Subrata with the expertise of Neymar in added time after being set up by a delightful pass from Thoi Singh on the right.

If the NorthEast-Pune match ends in a draw on Wednesday, Marco Mater-azzi’s team would be in the semi-finals. CFC only need a point at Pune on Sunday if there is a result at Guwahati.