ISL 2015: Chennaiyin FC leapfrog Pune City FC with 2-1 victory, Mendy and Mendoza score
Chennaiyin FC beat Pune City 2-1 to move up to second in the table. Goals from Bernard Mendy and Stiven Mendoza saw the south Indian side beat the Maharashtra side who now sit third in the table.
Chennaiyin manager Marco Materazzi made five changes from the team that started the 2-0 defeat against NorthEast United. As expected, both Elano and John Stiven Mendoza came straight back into the starting lineup.
The suspended Harmanjot Khabra's place was taken by Raphael Augusto, which meant that Edel Apoula had to drop to the bench to fulfill the quota for minimum Indians in the lineup. On the other hand, David Platt handed starts to experienced internationals Didier Zokora and Tuncay Sanli.
First Half: Chennaiyin take the lead through Bernard Mendy
Chennaiyin started on the front foot, as Mendoza tested Steve Simonsen from 25 yards out, but the Englishman held the ball comfortably. On the disciplinary front, Chennaiyin showed no improvement, as Manuele Blasi was booked in the second minute for a tackle on Zokora.
Chennaiyin showed more appetite, as Thoi Singh was giving Nicky Shorey a tough time in the opening exchanges. But after a lull in the action, Yendrick Ruiz almost gave Pune the lead, as a swerving strike just evaded Karanjit Singh's far post.
In the 20th minute, a teasing cross from Jayesh Rane was neautifully taken down by Elano, but the Brazilian's shot was saved by Simonsen's trailing leg. The rebound fell to Thoi but the diminutive Indian missed a gilt-edged opportunity with the goal at his mercy. A few minutes later, Simonsen was the saviour for Pune again, as a hopeful clearance from Mailson Alves fell kindly for Mendoza, but the Colombian's shot was kept out by the former Stoke goalkeeper.
In the 34th minute, Bernard Mendy gave Chennaiyin the lead, as he headed home a long throw from Dhanachandra Singh, which was not dealt with by the Pune defence. Chennaiyin further pressed to increase their lead, but none of their attacks bore fruition.
The next opportunity fell to Roger Johnson, but his header off Shorey's free kick flew over the crossbar. A couple of minutes later, a shot from Jackichand Singh ricocheted onto the path of Dharmaraj Ravanan but the man from Chennai saw his shot brilliantly saved by Karanjit Singh in the Chennaiyin goal.
That was the last action of a first half that Materazzi would have been pleased with, and one which left David Platt with a bit of thinking to do.
Half-time: Chennaiyin 1-0 Pune City
Second Half: Chennaiyin see it out
Pune started the second half on the front foot, as Tuncay ran onto a stray pass from Mendy, but the Turkish international scuffed his shot, eventually not troubling Karanjit. But Chennaiyin hit right back and doubled their lead through Stiven Mendoza. He cushioned a long ball from defence into Elano's path and the Brazilian returned the favour with a perfectly weighted through ball for him to round Simonsen and tap into an empty net.
Chennaiyin kept their foot on the accelerator, and soon won a free kick in Elano territory after Mendoza was brought down by Ravanan. But, the Chennaiyin no.7's shot was a touch too high to trouble Simonsen.
Platt had to change something in the hope of salvaging the game, and he put Kalu Uche on for the ineffective Ruiz. But Chennaiyin continued to pressurize Pune, and Elano set Jayesh off but Manish Maithani's tackle was just in time for Pune.
That was Manish's last act of the game, as he was replaced by Bikash Jairu, but Pune still needed some inspiration to get them going in the game. Chennaiyin continued to dominate the game, and the next presentable opportunity fell to Thoi after good interplay between Augusto and Jayesh, but the Manipuri's shot was high.
Then, against the run of play, Pune got themselves back in the game through Uche. A cross from Ravanan was met by the head of the Nigerian, but after a reflex-save from Karanjit, the rebound fell to Eugenseon Lyngdoh whose miskick ensured that the ball fell to Uche who blasted into an empty net. Pune had fifteen minutes to save themselves, as Chennaiyin brought Fikru on for Mendoza in the meantime.
Barely three minutes after coming on, the big Ethiopian had a chance to put the game to bed, but once again, Simonsen came to Pune's rescue, as he got down well at his near post. Pune nearly equalized in the 85th minute as Adrian Mutu – who had come on for Tuncay – saw his header saved by Karanjit. The resulting corner went to Bikash Jairu whose teasing cross was headed wide by the Romanian marquee player for Pune.
Elano came off to be replaced by Bruno Pelissari, and the young Brazilian was straight into the action as he led a Chennaiyin counter attack only to be foiled by a foul from Lyngdoh. Chennaiyin saw off the remaining minutes, but not without a late scare, as Mutu won another header, only to see it fly wide.
But in the end, it was Chennaiyin who held on for a much-needed win after a shaky start to their campaign.