ISL 2015: Chennaiyin FC 1-2 NorthEast United- 5 Talking Points
NorthEast United recorded their second straight victory by beating Chennaiyin FC in a rain-interrupted match at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in Chennai. Chennaiyin now becomes the second team after Atletico de Kolkata to have lost both their home and away matches to NorthEast United. Chennaiyin played a dominating game and maintained most of the possession, but it was The Highlanders who had the final laugh. They now climb up to fifth position as they head to Guwahati for the home leg of their matches. Here are five talking points from the match.
#1 Chennaiyin dominate rain-interrupted first half, courtesy Elano
It was an aggressive start for Chennaiyin with Mendoza making a dangerous move in the very first minute of the match. The first half of the first half, yes you read it right, the match was interrupted by heavy rains and lightning in the 25th minute, was completely dominated by the home team. They created a number of chances to keep the NorthEast goalkeeper busy.
In the 15th minute, Elano made a beautiful cross which Balwant headed high. The Elano machine was slowly warming up; he was not only creating dangerous attacks but also seizing a lot of possession from the opposition team. A goal was surely in the making for the Brazilian, only for the rain to play spoilsport.
But once the play resumed, he was on song again as in the 27th minute he received a dangerous cross from Thoi, which he shot wide. The goal finally came in the 32nd minute for Elano. Andre Bikey headed a cross away from the penalty area, but the ball fell nicely at the feet of Elano which he expertly volleyed into the bottom left corner.