ISL 2018-19: Chennaiyin FC 3-4 NorthEast United FC - 5 Talking Points

Chennaiyin FC were desperate to register their first win of this campaign, but they were told to wait by Eelco Schattorie's NorthEast United after they edged the reigning champions 4-3 at Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium.

The hosts opened the scoring when Rowllin Borges headed into his own net from a corner kick. Thoi Singh doubled the lead on a couple of occasions on 15th and 32nd minute. But, the Highlanders' skipper Bartholomew Ogbeche looked impossible to handle with his deadly finishing and the striker bagged a hat-trick to claim the match ball. The scoreline was even-steven when the players headed into the dressing room during halftime.

10 minutes into the second half, Borges slotted one past the helpless Karanjit Singh to reinstate the lead. This goal was enough for the away side to bag their second win on road this season.

Here are the major talking points from the game.

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#1 Bartholomew Ogbeche's deadly finishing

Ogbeche scored the first hat-trick of the season [Image: ISL]

Former Paris Saint-Germain graduate Bartholomew Ogbeche had a great reputation when he first landed at the Guwahati-based franchise. The Nigerian striker has finally proved his value with an inspirational performance by netting a hat-trick against the reigning champions Chennaiyin FC which was enough for the Highlanders to secure three points at away turf. With this hat-trick, he has taken his tally to 4 for this season.

The hosts looked like they were running away with the game after restoring the two-goal lead through Thoi Singh, but the shambolic defensive display from the blues defenders was exploited by Ogbeche. The Nigerian was constantly running behind Mailson Alves and Eli Sabia to cause perpetual havoc and did not give a breather to the defenders as they could not find their feet against Ogbeche throughout the game.

NorthEast United manager Eelco Schattorie expressed his delight and appreciated the effort of Ogbeche after the game. Rightfully, he was awarded the Hero Player of the Match and Swift Limitless Player of the Match for putting in an exceptional show which the Highlanders would remember for years to come.

#2 Blunder by operating Francisco as right-back

John Gregory's tactics were underwhelming [image: ISL]

There were plenty of surprises when people read the team sheet as John Gregory made 3 changes from the last game, but Francisco Fernandes kept his place in the starting eleven. The winger was told to play through the right flank of the defense by the Chennaiyin FC manager.

The 32-year-old is not an orthodox right-back and showed his defensive inexperience with awful positioning at times. It left a big hole at the back for most of the game and the centre-backs were forced to do the extra spare work because of this limbo. Sabia and Alves struggled to cope up with Ogbeche which in turn cost Chennaiyin FC the game.

Inigo Calderon, who is primarily a right-back operated as a holding midfielder, but the Spaniard did not have a great game either. It was a tactical blunder from the Chennaiyin FC manager to have swapped positions when first-choice players were available for their first-choice positions.

#3 Gallego and Tlang combination unsettled the midfield and Jerry

Federico Gallego (left) was a key part of the Highlanders' offence [Image: ISL]

NorthEast United duo Federico Gallego and Redeem Tlang combined well to contribute to their side by going more forward with their defensive splitting passes and defensive astuteness when required. Thapa, Jerry, and Inigo Calderon were struggling to keep them quiet.

The Uruguayan was running the show in the middle of the park and helped his side regain possession on multiple occasions with clever pressing. His assist for Ogbeche's second goal is exemplary of Gallego's technique. On the other hand, Tlang was tirelessly working hard through the right flank and kept the momentum ticking with simple passes to not give away the possession.

The Highlanders gained so much of empty space between the defense and midfield by exploiting the space between these two positions. Chennaiyin looked questionable at the back and using Inigo as a makeshift midfielder has backfired for the manager John Gregory.

#4 Too little, too late for Gregory Nelson

Thoi Singh played instead of Gregory Nelson [Image: ISL]

Any side leaving out the Dutch winger Gregory Nelson would suffer without injection of pace. That was the case with Chennaiyin FC today. The 30-year-old was forced to be left out because Gregory decided to swap Jeje Lalpekhlua and Carlos Salom.

With the foreigners rule coming into play, Thoi Singh was named in the starting eleven today. The Indian international did not disappoint and got his name registered on the scoresheet twice.

The Blues lacked ideas going forward throughout the second half and did not threaten the NorthEast United goalkeeper Pawan Kumar. John Gregory should have taken off Raphael Augusto who looked flat and struggled to beat opponents with his nimble footwork.

Instead, the winger was back in action when he had as little as 5 minutes to push for a goal. However, he did create one chance and the Blues were agonizingly close for an equalizer. Gregory Nelson was a huge miss for the hosts this game.

#5 Great defensive organization for rest of the game after throwing away three early goals

Eelco Schattorie's men managed to hold fort after an early period of defensive lapses [Image: ISL]

For the first thirty minutes of the game, Chennaiyin FC were in supreme control with a two-goal lead. NEUFC were undone by an own goal and exceptional works from Isaac and Raphael Augusto through the right flank to go past the defence and provide an assist to Thoi Singh. John Gregory told his players to counter press and tried to hurt them on the counter-attack. Rightfully, Eelco Schattorie was furious on the touchline with the players when they were letting in cheap goals.

The Highlanders reorganized themselves after receiving information from the manager to shut down the midfielders of Chennaiyin FC. Jose Leudo and Rowllin Borges sat back with the defence to provide utmost freedom for the attackers. This move helped the defenders who were living their life without support during the first half. Additionally,

the wing-backs also provided more support defensively which helped the course for NorthEast United. Mato Grgic and Mislav Komorski defended deep along with others to shut down the attackers and see out the game.