Odisha FC and Chennaiyin FC began their 2024-25 ISL season with an early kickoff at the Kalinga Stadium, with both sets of supporters eager to see how the season would unfold for their favorite club. With a penalty kick from Mauricio, Odisha grabbed the lead, but Chennaiyin had the last laugh, mounting an incredible comeback to defeat Odisha 3-2 away from home after scoring three goals in the second half. Here are a few of the most significant events that transpired throughout the match, including Mauricio’s penalty and Farukh’s brace.
Both head coaches made a few unexpected selections in their starting lineup. Odisha FC’s head coach, Sergio Lobera, selected Saviour Gama as the left-back over Jerry Lalrinzuala, who was a solid player last year. The four foreign players were Delgado, Jahouh, Boumous, and Mauricio; Roy Krishna and Mourtada Fall were on the bench. Rahim Ali, who had joined from Chennaiyin FC, was also given his debut. Conversely, Owen Coyle shocked the supporters by benching players like Lukas Brambilla, Wilmar Jordan, Kiyan Nassiri, and Gurkirat. Chima and Irfan were positioned up front in a 4-4-2 formation chosen by the Scottish head coach. Shields started on the wings alongside Farukh, with Elsinho and Ryan Edwards as the other foreigners.
Isak’s deft through pass to unleash Rahim gave him the game’s opening opportunity. Rahim’s attempt was deflected for a corner by Elsinho, who was equal to the challenge. Jahouh received the first yellow card of the match five minutes into the game after fouling Farukh. Hnamte’s clever through pass reached Farukh, who turned and attempted to shoot but was taken down. A penalty was appealed, but it was not awarded. Shortly after, Amrinder recovered the ball and released Boumous, who had plenty of room to run, Samik eventually brought him down in the end, giving Odisha FC a penalty. Mauricio scored the first goal for the Juggernauts, making no mistakes from the spot.
Jerry Lalrinzuala took Saviour Gama’s place fifteen minutes into the match due to a hamstring injury. The Odisha defense was doing a great job of preventing any threat to their goal, while the Marina Machans were constantly attacking and earning a number of set pieces after conceding. Around twenty minutes into the game, Connor Shields and Chima placed incredible pressure to win the ball from Isak Ralte in a dangerous position. Shields lunged forward and fired a shot at goal, but Amrinder was equal to the challenge, deflecting it for a corner. A few seconds later, Farukh had a great chance to score when Chima delivered a wonderful pass to him, but he missed the target.
Odisha had to make another forced change when Carlos Delgado injured himself and Mourtada Fall took his place. A little over 30 minutes into the match, Amey produced a lovely cross for Boumous, whose header from close range was pushed behind by Samik’s incredible reflex save. A few minutes later, Farukh was brought down in a dangerous position by Narender Gahlot. Hnamte took the subsequent free-kick, whose excellent effort was blocked by the woodwork. Amrinder was rooted and would have conceded if it had not been for the woodwork.
Minutes before halftime, Connor Shields sent a wonderful cross to Daniel Chima Chukwu in the six-yard box. Amrinder blocked Chukwu’s feeble attempt and pushed it away for a corner. The first half finished with five extra minutes added on, with the hosts leading 1-0. Lobera would have been pleased with the advantage heading into halftime, but he would have been completely devastated by Delgado’s and Saviour Gama’s injuries.
As the second half began, Owen Coyle and Sergio Lobera each made one substitution: Ankit Mukherjee took Mandar’s place for Chennaiyin, and Roy Krishna took the place of Diego Mauricio. Chennaiyin equalized three minutes into the half, and deservedly so. A terrific cross from Connor Shields toward the six-yard box was poked in by Farukh. Shields has been a consistent menace to the Odisha defense throughout the game. Farukh hurt himself during the process, but he was able to carry on.
Two minutes later, Chennaiyin took the lead, and who else, it was Farukh Choudhary again. Amrinder gave the ball away cheaply to Farukh, who took his time and shot towards the goal which deflected off Jahouh to find the back of the net. Chennaiyin went from trailing to leading within a span of just two minutes thanks to Farukh’s brace.
Connor Shields delivered a beautiful cross towards the six-yard box around 55 minutes into the match, this time from the right side. Irfan nearly missed the target with his header from that cross. Irfan had another chance to score a minute later, but the Odisha defense again blocked his attempt. Farukh dribbled past Puitea to put a dangerous cross into the box, causing all sorts of issues for the Odisha defense. However, he was unable to find Chima. Soon after, Krishna cleverly played a cheeky ball to Boumous inside the opponent’s box, but Samik stopped the latter’s attempt.
Chima’s first goal in Chennaiyin colors gave the Marina Machans a two-goal lead in the 69th minute. The goal’s creator, Dinliana, did a fantastic job dribbling past Isak and Narender before playing a cross to Chima, whose first-time volley went into the back of the net, leaving Amrinder with no chance at all. A few minutes later, Dinliana produced another daring cross towards the six-yard box, but Farukh and Chima were unable to reach it. Both coaches made a few substitutions: Gurkirat and Wilmar Jordan took the place of Irfan Yadwad and Daniel Chima for the Marina Machans, and Raynier and Jerry Mawia replaced Narender and Rahim Ali for the Juggernauts.
Even with a two-goal lead, Chennaiyin FC never stopped pressing and attacking the goal. Conversely, Odisha had a few opportunities, but they were unable to get past Chennaiyin’s defense. Owen Coyle made a couple more alterations, bringing on Vincy Barretto and Lucas Brambilla. At the ninety-minute mark, Amey sent a beautiful cross for Krishna, who attempted to set it up for Isak, but Dinliana was there to deny him. At the end of the second half, seven more minutes were added. Krishna played Jerry a wonderful through pass early in the stoppage time, but Elsinho heroically cleared the latter’s cross.
In the 95th minute, Roy Krishna pulled one back for the Juggernauts, giving the game a dramatic finale. Hugo Boumous found an unmarked Krishna in the six-yard box with a risky cross to set up the goal. Roy Krishna did a fantastic job evading Samik Mitra and putting the ball in the back of the net. With two minutes remaining, Odisha had a great chance to force a tie, but Chennaiyin FC managed to win 3-2 and take all three points.
Even though they fell behind by a goal in the first half, Chennaiyin wasn’t all that dreadful and had their moments. It was just the final ball that was missing, and they found it in the second half, scoring three times. This was the first league loss for Sergio Lobera at Kalinga Stadium, and the Spaniard will be unhappy with the manner his team gave up the lead and conceded three goals. He would also be concerned about Carlos Delgado’s injury since the Juggernauts’ defense has relied heavily on him.
Owen Coyle would be overjoyed to beat a team like Odisha FC away from home to kick off the season. Throughout the whole game, his team was continually on the attack and pushing. Last year, they lost 2-0 at the same stadium against the same opposition in their opening game and were by much the second-best team on the day. But this time, they were in control and emerged victorious 3-2, which would have thrilled the head coach.
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