Jordan Murray's added time strike helped Chennaiyin FC break Odisha FC's 13-match winning streak as the former champions notched a 2-1 win in the Indian Super League match in Chennai on Sunday. (More Football News)
It is a result that will have ramifications across the points table, with Mumbai City FC (35) and Mohun Bagan Super Giant (33) with a good chance to displace Odisha FC (35) from the top.
Simultaneously, it has brought the 10th-placed Owen Coyle-coached side level on points (18) with the sixth-placed Bengaluru FC.
More importantly, the Marina Machans have a game in hand (17) as compared to the Blues (18), and can aspire to bridge that slender gap in their coming fixtures.
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Chennaiyin FC produced one of their most coordinated performances right from the back to the front, barring a brief moment of lack of concentration that equalised scores in the 78th minute.
Ankit Mukherjee drew the first blood from a set piece five minutes into the game, with Rafael Crivellaro picking the fullback amidst a crowded box on the near post on the right side.
Mukherjee charged inside and beat competition from the towering Mourtada Fall to drill the ball into the back of the net.
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It took the seasoned Roy Krishna to do the honours deep into the second half. Fall played decoy to a corner by Jahouh, which had a vertical loop to it. Fall’s headed pass led to the unmarked Krishna, who leaped high to nod the ball in.
But the goal didn’t peg Chennaiyin FC back. It instead fuelled them to find the winner, with Farukh Choudhary and Connor Shields taking precise shots from inside of the box in the following few minutes.
The three points, however, came in their kitty through Murray, who jumped to hammer in a corner by Shields in the fourth minute of the added time of the second half to seal the game.
