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In a game that Delhi Dynamos absolutely needed to win, they showed some excellent resilience and fighting spirit to claw their way back from two goals down, but in the end could only manage a 2-2 draw in a game that saw Alessandro Del Piero score his first ISL goal.
Chennai manager Marco Materazzi, as expected, kept Bernard Mendy and Elano away from the starting eleven, as both of them were just one yellow card away from suspension. Elsewhere, Materazzi also handed an ISL debut to AC Milan legend Alessandro Nesta. For Delhi, Harm van Veldhoven made one change as Bruno Arias was replaced by Dinis.
After some initial sparring, it was Delhi who got into their stride the quicker. A through pass from Francis Fernandes saw Gustavo dos Santos through on goal, but he was denied by an agile Gennaro Bracigliano. Soon after, a shot from Adil Khan was too easy for Bracigliano to hold on to.
A few minutes later, pressure from Balwant Singh forced Anwar Ali to concede a corner. What followed was pure inspiration from Bruno Pelissari. Whether he meant it or not, the Brazilian curled in a perfect ball that went over Kristof van Hout and inside the far post to give Chennai the lead.
It was certainly not what Delhi needed after their early pressure, especially given that they were the ones in desperate need of the points.
Delhi were soon dealt another blow, as Mads Junker was forced to come off with what looked like a thigh injury. He was replaced by Alessandro Del Piero.
And the Italian genius's first touch was nigh on perfection. He flicked the ball to Francis with a nifty back heel, but the little forward's shot was met with a timely block by Mikael Silvestre.
Delhi's job got even harder when Chennai scored a wonderful team goal. Jeje Lalpekhlua found himself in the centre of midfield and he pinged a fantastic cross field pass to Balwant, who switched the play wonderfully towards the onrushing Harmanjot Khabra on the right flank. Khabra then swung in a low cross which was tucked in by Jeje to complete a move he himself started.
Delhi's frustration was boiling over, and it was evident when captain Hans Mulder had a right go at Anwar. Dane Pereira was down in the Chennai penalty area, and Anwar was well within shooting range, but he decided to put the ball out so that Pereira could receive treatment. It was a fair gesture from Anwar but one could understand Mulder's anger.
That was to be the last action of the first half and Delhi were left with all to do to salvage their place in the semi-final.
Both teams made changes at half time with Gouramangi Singh replacing Nesta for Chennai and Morten Skoubo replacing Stijn Houben for Delhi.
Delhi were light at the back, but it was a statement of intent from van Veldhoven. However, he could have been made to pay twice early in the second half, but Balwant and Pelissari couldn't make anything materialize.
Soon after, Delhi were right back in it through Del Piero's first goal of the tournament. And what a sumptuous goal it was. After he was fouled on the edge of the area on the left flank, he played the ball down with intent and curled a beautiful free kick that gave Bracigliano absolutely no chance.
That goal sparked the game into life, and it was riveting end to end football without any clear cut chances being created.
When one was created, Balwant Singh put his header from Harmanjot Khabra's cross wide. With Delhi light at the back, Chennai fancied their chances on the break and looked to get the ball to Pelissari as often as they could. But, the Brazilian tried too many fancy flicks and none of them came off.
Pelissari was replaced by Jean Eudes Maurice, and Materazzi then sent the crowd to raptures by bringing himself on for Denson Devadas.
But, it was Chennai who looked the more likely to score, as Delhi barely conjured anything up front post Del Piero's free kick.
It was only a superb save from van Hout off a stinging Jeje shot that kept Delhi in the game. Maurice’s follow up shot was easily grasped by the big Belgian.
As the minutes wore on, it increasingly looked as though Chennai were the ones in need of the points, as they were the ones doing all the shouting. Delhi absolutely fell flat, and Balwant could have sealed their fate, but once again, his header lacked menace, and was easily caught by van Hout.
But, captain Hans Mulder stepped up in the 88th minute with a peach of a strike from the edge of the area to fill Delhi hearts with hope again. Del Piero’s cross into the box was deflected by Gustavo into the path of Mulder who made no mistake.
That pressed Delhi into action, and they showed urgency in everything they did in the dying embers of the game. But, it wasn’t to be for Delhi as they saw Morten Skoubo sent off after a skirmish with Materazzi.
Delhi need some big favours now from other teams, and they will be glued to their TV sets hoping that those favours happen.
