Csaba Laszlo’s men seemed to have sealed the game but SC East Bengal’s Matti Steinmann had other plans. In a nail-biting thriller at the Tilak Maidan Stadium, SC East Bengal held a 2-2 draw against Chennaiyin FC thanks to the brace from their German midfielder.
The Marina Machans took an early lead when Lallianzuala Chhangte beautifully nutmegged Debjit Majumdar to find a way to the back of the nets. The assist came from Jakub Sylvestr. The first half seemed quite calm except this event. Robbie Fowler made 2 changes during the half time and East Bengal slowly seemed to have gained the pace.
At the 59th minute, 25-year-old German midfielder Matti Steinmann equalised the scoreline with a precisely guided header towards the far left post, leaving Vishal Kaith clueless. Within 5 minutes Chennaiyin regained their lead when a right footed strike from Rahim Ali edged past Debjit to the centre of the goalpost. Exactly 4 minutes later, Matti Steinmann again took a close shot on the bottom right corner, that made the scores all squares again.
This scoreboard remained still till the final whistle was blown, making both the teams share a point each. SC East Bengal kept 49% possession and 68% passing accuracy while Chennaiyin possessed 51% and had a 67% passing accuracy. There were a total 11 shots on target and 7 were from CFC. The only booking was against Jacques Maghoma.
With an amazing solo performance, Matti Steinmann won the Hero of the Match award while Lallianzuala Chhangte was the best Indian player of the game. Here’s how our team rates the players out of 10.
SC East Bengal
Debjit Majumder (GK) 6
Scott Neville (DEF) 7.5
Daniel Fox (DEF) 6.5
Surchandra Singh (MF) 6
Bikash Jairu (MF) 7
Sehnaj Singh (MF) 6
Matti Steinmann (MF) 9
Mohammed Rafique (MF) 6.5
Haobam Singh (MF) 6
Jacques Maghoma (MF) 7
Anthony Pilkington (MF) 7
Substitutes:
N Rohen Singh (DEF) 6
Jeje Lalpekhlua (FWD) 5
Milan Singh (MF) 5.5
Rana Gharami (DEF) N/A
Chennaiyin FC
Vishal Kaith (GK) 5.5
Deepak Tangri (DEF) 6.5
Eli Sabia (DEF) 6
Enes Sipovic (DEF) 7
Jerry Lalrinzuala (DEF) 6.5
Memo Moura (MF) 7
Anirudh Thapa (MF) 6.5
Rafael Crivellaro (MF) 6.5
Lallianzuala Chhangte (MF) 8.5
Rahim Ali (FWD) 8
Jakub Sylvestr (FWD) 7
Substitutes:
Edwin Vanspaul (MF) 5.5
Fatkhulo Fatkhulloev (MF) 6
Dhanpal Ganesh (MF)
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