Chennaiyin FC had their first taste of victory against NorthEast United when Marco Materazzi’s men overcame the Highlanders with a solitary goal in Guwahati.
A visibly tired NorthEast forward line had to response to the Chennaiyin defence as Mendy and his fellow defenders shielded the attack of the trio, Alfaro, Velez and Yusa Katsumi. Coach Nelo Vingada too realized the fatigue of his players and wasn’t harsh on them.
“In the last 30 minutes, our reaction was good. Romaric was all alone. Passi made a good header and Alfaro if he had not been tired, could have done better. I will not make excuses for tiredness but we finished the game on them against is being outwitted,” said the coach.
He refused to acknowledge the fact that Chennaiyin outplayed the home side with their physicality. The same thought was also resonated by the opposition coach, who said it was the mentality that differed not the physical strength. “Peluso is kind of a dwarf while Sahni is not that tall. Yes, Raphael Augusto is a physical player, but he is also a very experienced one. What made the difference between the winning and the losing team was the mentality,” said the Marco Materazzi.
A good game
Both the coaches again were on the same page and believed that it was a really good game, though Nelo Vingada was of the thought that a draw would have been a better result. “It was a good game, a match of high level against a great team. We lost but we got positives out of it though three points are most important in football. A draw should have been the ideal result. When we went down by a goal, we pressed then and created a couple if good chances to score,” said ‘the Professor’.
Marco Materazzi, on the other hand, believed that his team should have scored another goal in the second half but was satisfied with the performance of his team.
Not a penalty
Another important aspect of the game was the penalty appeal of NorthEast against Mendy. It looked like a clear foul on screen. But Vingada refused to put any blame on the referee as he said, “I think was not a penalty. At that moment it was easy for me to shout, but in reality, the defender was really fast. Alfaro was very tired and Mendy got the better of it.”
Lastly, the NorthEast coach also congratulated Bengaluru FC for their historic win and he believes that it’s a great stride for Indian football. “Congratulations to Bengaluru FC to qualify for the AFC Cup final. I wish the best so that they can bring the cup for India,” the coach added.
