Chennaiyin FC took on Mumbai City FC at the Mumbai Football Arena in an attempt to end the home team’s 11-game unbeaten streak against them. With both teams having defeated the bottom-placed teams before the game, there was optimism among both groups of supporters for a successful outcome. Petr Kratky, however, had the final laugh when his team defeated Owen Coyle’s men 1-0.
Ryan Edwards made a mistake that Nikolaos Karelis put into the back of the net to give Mumbai City FC the lead early on. Chennaiyin FC responded effectively with a great spell before the break. The Marina Machans had a few chances, including Chima’s goal that was disallowed for offside and rightly so. Despite Chennaiyin’s best efforts in the second half, they only created one half-chance, which was missed by Irfan’s diving header. From Mumbai’s defense to Coyle’s substitutions, let’s discuss the game’s takeaways.
#1 Soft goals, Soft goals and Soft goals
The majority of the time this season, Chennaiyin’s defense has been excellent. The issue, however, has been the backline defenders’ inability to focus over the entire ninety minutes. Even in this game, the opposition’s goal came from a mistake by Ryan Edwards. Owen Coyle commented, “We gifted the goal. The goal we gave was just such a terrible, terrible mistake. An absolute gift”. The head coach brings up this topic at every other press conference, so it’s nothing new.
From the goal against Mumbai City to the goal against Mohammedan SC at home, there have been several soft goals let up this season, including four penalties and numerous goals where the defenders should have performed better. For example, Chennaiyin looked good in the first half against Punjab. However, they gave up two goals in a quick succession after the half, which ended their chances of winning the match. With the forwards struggling to score goals in recent games, it is critical for the defenders to correct their errors and ensure they leave every game with a point at least.
#2 Defensive solidity ensures Mumbai City FC yet another three points
Mumbai City FC has played excellent, free-flowing attacking football under Des Buckingham’s leadership over the last couple of seasons. There were games in the past where the Islanders would score a lot of goals and totally outplay the opposition’s defense. However, this season, under Kratky, they have struggled to score. They have only been able to score more than once in four of the 12 games they have already played. With Indian strikers like as Vikram and Chhangte struggling, they have often found themselves out of ideas in attack.
However, their defense has been the primary reason for them remaining fourth in the points table, with 20 points in 12 games. They’ve kept four clean sheets in a row and conceded just 8 goals in their last ten matches, after letting in five in the opening two games against Mohun Bagan and Jamshedpur FC. With just thirteen goals conceded, they hold the league’s second best defense, trailing only the Mariners.
From young Nathan to the experienced Tiri, all of their defenders have been remarkably stable, leaving the opposition with little opportunity. With the wingers dropping back to support their fullbacks, their defensive discipline is evident throughout the team, not just among the defenders. With six points separating him from league leaders, Petr Kratky would like his strikers to score more goals and compete for the ISL shield as much as possible.
#3 Owen Coyle must get his substitutions right
With the ability to make five substitutions, substitutes frequently have a significant impact on the outcome of the game. Chennaiyin FC entered the second half with a strong sense of purpose, winning every second ball and attacking anytime they had a chance. However, the flow of the game was utterly broken when they made some substitutions. Bringing in Farukh instead of Jitendra did not benefit the team. Midfielders Jitendra and Hnamte were providing Owen Coyle’s team with much-needed balance and ball retention against a top-tier Mumbai City FC midfield. However, after the introduction of Farukh, Chennaiyin’s midfield lost structure and balance, and Farukh had no impact on the game.
For the first hour or two of the game, Kiyan was a persistent menace to the Islanders’ right-hand side. Vincy had minimal impact on the game after replacing Kiyan, with the exception of one cross to Chima Chukwu, who botched the opportunity. When chasing a goal, the final substitution, Gurkirat, appeared to be the appropriate call. However, he didn’t have much time to influence the game because he was brought on in the 83rd minute. And it was Lukas Brambilla’s removal that limited Chennaiyin’s attack, as there was no one to produce the much-needed chances in the last minutes of the match.
Another mistake from Coyle was not to take off Daniel Chima Chukwu. The Nigerian striker was clearly struggling and posed no threat to the opposition defenders. Bringing on the likes of Gurkirat and playing him in the striker role while keeping Lukas Brambilla on the pitch could have helped Chennaiyin FC salvage a point against Mumbai City FC.
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