Chennai: The southern Derby between defending champions Chennaiyin FC and Kerala Blasters ended in a goalless draw at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, here on Thursday.
The result left both the sides languishing at the sixth and seventh position in the points table. The game opened up several opportunities for both the teams to score but both the sides missed some easy chances. As soon as the second minute, Chennai got an opportunity to score with Raphael Augusto passing one to Isaac Vanmalsawma, but the 22-year old missed a straight chance. Soon he got one more and passed one to Andrea Orlandi, who shot it straight to Kerala goalkeeper Dheeraj Singh.
In the 20th minute an Andrea Orlandi pass gave a good opportunity for Jeje to score but this time the Indian striker lobbed the ball over the post. Out of all the chances, Chennaiyin got one of the easiest chances. Thoi Sigh managed to get the ball and was quick to pass it to Jeje from the right flank. With only one defender near him, Jeje ran half-way through the pitch and inside the penalty area he passed it back to Thoi Singh but he couldn’t even connect the pass and fluffed the opportunity.
Chennaiyin FC coach, John Gregory was critical of his side missing out on opportunities to score.”We have got to win games like this. We have dominated the match for such a long period of time, and got golden opportunities to score goals and to win a match,” he said. He even compared his team with Bengaluru FC and FC Goa. “It was a game that should have been won and when teams like Bengaluru and Goa get one opportunity, they click at those chances and win games. We put so much effort in the game and we should have won,” he said.
Kerala Blasters came back into the game only during the 55tth minute. They had a superb shot at the goal only to have it saved by Sanjiban Ghosh who replaced CFC custodian Karanjit Singh.
Kerala substitute Seiminlen Doungel found acres of space in the 80th minute and hit the woodwork, much to the relief of John Gregory’s men.CFC’s new goalkeeper had a good game with some crucial saves and Gregory appreciated his good show. “He is fantastic, he has been nervous but still went with the job, the players gave him a lot of confidence. They were very supportive of him,” he said.
About the team morale, he said that the team is still confident. “The confidence comes under pressure a little bit but we have been very careful to pacify the players. The fans are so supportive. With them cheering, it gives a lot of confidence. We never get too get excited when we win and never angry or disappointed when we lose so we have to keep everybody motivated we have three days to prepare for the ATK game on Sunday and hope we play well and get three points,” he signed off.