KOZHIKODE: In a feisty contest that was strewn with three red cards Gokulam Kerala's paid the price for their over-reliance on strikers Henry Kisseka and Marcus Joseph as they went down to Chennai City FC 2-3 in the
I-League
match at EMS Stadium, Kozhikode on Thursday.
Adolfo Miranda
(44),
Pravitto Raju
(55) and
Sriram
(77) scored for Chennai while Gokulam mounted a late fightback through a double from Muhammed Shibil (81st and 89th minute) but in vain.
The game took a bizarre turn in the injury time as three players, two from Gokulam and one from Chennai, were given the marching orders after being shown second yellow cards. For Gokulam Muhammed Irshad and Haroon Amiri were sent off while Chennai's N Mashoor Shereef was also penalized by referee Ajith Kumar Meitei
Chennai began the proceedings on a positive note and won two corners in the first two minutes. The visiting coach Akbar Nawas made the best use of the two flanks and Japanese midfielder Katsumi Yusa was threatening whenever he entered the Gokulam box along the left-wing while former Gokulam player Jishnu Balakrishnan did a commendable job as a wingback even though his fitness was tested a couple of times by Andre Kisseka.
Gokulam's game was highly predictable. Like their previous matches, almost all their passes and crosses were aimed at either Marcus or Kisseka. Nawas knew this strategy well and he came with a well-prepared plan. Both Marcus and Kisseka were closely marked by the defenders and though it opened up space for the rest of the Gokulam players, none of them could capitalize on the opportunities.
Gokulam's best chance came in the 35th minute. Sebastian Thangmuansang made a good run along the right wing to send a well-measured cross into the Chennai box. Both Kisseka and Irshad went for the aerial ball but they collided and the ball landed safely in Chennai goalkeeper Nauzet Santana's hands.
The defending champions broke the deadlock through Adolfo Miranda in the 44th minute as the five-men Gokulam defence was caught sleeping. Chennai midfielder Sriram gave a clever pass to Miranda from the centre. The Spanish forward collected the ball gently and tapped it into the left corner past an advancing goalkeeper Vigneswaran Bhaskaran.
Chennai doubled their lead in the 55th minute through Pravito Raju. Miranda's powerful shot from the edge of the box was saved from the goalline by Gokulam's Afghan defender Haroon Amiri. But he could not clear the ball from the danger area and it fell before Chennai's first-half substitute Raju, who launched a powerful shot to double the visitors' lead.
Chennai made it 3-0 in the 77th minute. Receiving the ball from the centre, Syed Pasha made a solo run along the left wing before entering the box. He skillfully beat the defender Muhammed Rashid and squared the ball to Sriram, who slotted the ball past Baskaran.
Though Gokulam's second-half substitute Shibil Muhammed scored twice in the 81st and 89th minutes, it came too late in the day for the hosts.
Soon after Shibil's first goal, Gokulam goalkeeper Vigneswaran Bhaskaran met with an injury after colliding with a Chennai player and had to be taken to the hospital. As Gokulam ran out of substitutes, Gokulam defender Haroon Amiri donned the role of the goalkeeper. But in the 94th minute, Amiri was shown a second yellow for a bad foul and was sent off. Muhammed Rashid stood under the bar as Gokulam played with eight men for the remainder of the match.
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