Mohun Bagan Super Giants won 1-0 at home against Chennaiyin FC, extending their undefeated home run. The Mariners’ undefeated record in the league now stands at six games, including five victories. The game’s overall narrative is not reflected in the scoreboard since Jose Molina’s team controlled most of the match but was unable to get past Chennaiyin FC’s tenacious defense.
The first thirty minutes or so of the match was a close contest between the two teams, with Chennaiyin having some excellent opportunities. However, after the first half drinks break, it was all Mohun Bagan on the attack, with Liston Colaco making a few unsuccessful attempts. Owen Coyle’s team tried their hardest to stop the threat, but Molina’s substitution of Jason Cummings and Greg Stewart proved crucial as they combined to earn all three points.
#1 Hnamte as a lone defensive midfielder simply doesn’t work
Chennaiyin FC devised a game strategy to sit back and absorb the pressure while attacking the Mariners on rapid counter-attacks whenever feasible. As a lone defensive midfielder in a few games this season, Elsinho has frequently suffered, but this time, Owen Coyle made the right decision by starting Hnamte in the middle with Elsinho and Connor Shields. Keeping the Mariner’s midfield quiet for much of the game, Chennaiyin had the ideal balance in the midfield thanks to Elsinho’s stability and Hnamte’s determination to win the ball back in the middle. Not only did it help the team defensively, but it also allowed Connor Shields to blast forward and create chances.
Everything was going smoothly until the 70th minute when Lukas Brambilla replaced Elsinho in a bid to secure the game-winning goal. While the move made sense offensively, it threw Chennaiyin’s midfield balance off, forcing Hnamte to play defensive midfield alongside Connor and Brambilla ahead of him. As a result, Mohun Bagan had more room to attack through the middle with players like Sahal Abdul Samad and Greg Stewart. Greg made the difference, hitting the crossbar twice and assisting on Cummings’ goal.
Hnamte is the kind of player who would be more comfortable playing as a progressive midfielder than a defensive midfielder. Elsinho may have changed the outcome of the game if he had remained on the field. Even if Elsinho had to be substituted for Lukas, someone like Jitendra Singh could have been brought in to take his place. Jitendra has previously played in that position and is capable of performing the dirty work that is expected from someone in that position. Although Hnamte played a fantastic game overall, he is not accustomed to playing as a six which cost them the goal. Owen Coyle must stop this to manage the games better in the final minutes.
#2 Nawaz has established himself as the first-choice goalkeeper
At the beginning of the season, there were concerns regarding Chennaiyin’s goalkeeping choices and whether Samik Mitra or Mohammad Nawaz had the necessary experience and expertise to take Debjit Majumdar’s spot. Over the past few seasons, Samik and Nawaz had played very little first-team football, and the latter appeared to be lacking confidence following a couple of howlers for Mumbai City. Due to a minor injury sustained during the preseason, Nawaz had to start the season as Samik’s backup.
After Samik made a few mistakes and the team had a bad run of results, Nawaz got the call as the starting keeper for the match against Jamshedpur FC. While Nawaz had a minimal role in the Jamshedpur game, he impressed against Mumbai City and Kerala Blasters. However, he had his best game in Chennaiyin colors tonight against Mohun Bagan, making several amazing saves, making strong set-piece punches, and expressing confidence each time the ball was hit towards him.
In case coach Owen Coyle or any Chennaiyin supporters had any reservations about Nawaz’s ability, the goalie made a compelling argument for the starting position tonight. Samik has his strengths, but Nawaz seems to be better at ball handling and punching it in set pieces. In addition, Nawaz dominates the box and commands his defenders, who have made some mistakes in communication in previous games—the goal against Mohammedan being a prime example. Owen Cole’s trust in Nawaz appears to be helping him gradually return to his peak, and the supporters are hopeful that he will maintain this form.
#3 Time to make changes in attack
Chennaiyin has only managed one goal in their last three games, even though they scored five goals against Jamshedpur FC. Their problems don’t end there; in their last two games, they have only managed five shots on goal and failed to score. Although they rank among the best teams in the league for creating chances, they have only produced 12 big chances thus far, averaging about one great chance per game, placing them fourth from the bottom. As a striker, you wish that your wingers play more of the ball to your feet rather than simply crossing it into the box.
Another point of concern for Owen Coyle is that only three of the sixteen goals have come from Indians. Farukh scored twice in the first game, while Irfan scored against Jamshedpur. Irfan has shown enough menace in the last few games by getting into good goal-scoring situations and putting in a strong defensive effort. Farukh, however, has been unimpressive and occasionally appears to be lacking the end product. Attacks from the right have been non-existent unless Connor Shields crosses from the right flanks. The situation has been the same for Vincy, who has been lacking the final ball for quite some time.
Is it time for someone else to step up? Is it time for Owen to think about Kiyan and Gurkirat? Two promising young Indian forwards who joined the team with the hopes of playing more have actually had difficulty finding playing time. Kiyan is a smart mover on the field who can create more space for Shields on the flanks while also combining and playing lovely one-touch passes. Gurkirat, on the other hand, can play from the right and has the potential to cut in and score rather than staying on the touchline and attempting to cross. It remains to be seen whether these two will start games for Chennaiyin, but Coyle should utilize them more regularly in games.
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