Super Cup: Chennaiyin FC to go all out for AFC spot

CHENNAI: After a nightmarish Indian Super League campaign, where they did not even come close to qualifying for the playoffs, Chennaiyin FC will be eager to salvage some pride in the Super Cup in Bhubaneswar. Chennaiyin will begin their run with a challenging round-of-16 fixture against ISL big gun Mumbai City FC on Wednesday.

The knockout tournament offers CFC another opportunity to end a long wait – while Chennaiyin have not won silverware since their 2017-18 ISL triumph, they have not been at the continental level since the 2018-19 season. For CFC to pose a threat, they will have to stay “consistent”, a quality that head coach Owen Coyle believes they lacked in the ISL.

“When we are at our best, we can stand toe-to-toe with the best teams. The cup competition is a great opportunity for everybody, because there is an AFC spot up for grabs. There is an incentive for everyone to go and win the cup,” Coyle said.

“We started the ISL season well and finished strongly. We had a poor middle section of the season. For sure, there is added motivation to finish the season on a high. We were very inconsistent in the ISL; that is what cost us a place in the top-six. We have to get back to giving good performances consistently,” added Coyle.

Chennaiyin should show drastic improvement in the defensive department, after keeping only four clean sheets in the league stage of the ISL. The luxury to use both Ryan Edwards and Elsinho at the heart of defence at the same time – a club can field a maximum of six foreigners – could solve some issues for the chief coach.

Coyle acknowledged that there is a huge scope for improvement in defence but stressed that the team would not get into a shell for the sake of a clean sheet. “That (poor defending) was the biggest thing that hurt us in the ISL; we did not defend well enough. But in cup competitions, you have to win games. We will certainly not be seeing a more defensive approach; we will see a team going out to win games,” said Coyle.

What should give CFC a bit of hope for Wednesday’s game is the fact that Mumbai could miss a few key players due to different reasons (injuries, rehabilitation and personal situation). While Jon Toral and Jayesh Rane have been ruled out of the tournament, Yoell van Nieff, Jeremy Manzorro and Prabir Das are doubtful starters for the clash on Wednesday.

Asked if CFC will have the upper hand, Coyle replied: “We are under no illusion; Mumbai are a wonderful side. Van Nieff and Manzorro could probably make it to the game. They have many good Indian players like Lallianzuala Chhangte, Vikram Pratap Singh and Mehtab Singh who add to the mix.”


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