FC Goa 1-2 Chennaiyin FC: 5 talking points

At the end of a bruising encounter at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in Fatorda, it was Marco Materazzi’s Chennaiyin FC who came away with the three points against an FC Goa side, who might feel rather aggrieved to be going away from this fixture with no points. Balwant Singh opened the scoring for Chennai with a slightly fortuitous effort before a sublime free kick from Chennai’s marquee player, Elano put the visitors in command at half time. But FC Goa came firing out of the blocks after the restart, and were only thwarted by some resolute Chennai defending and could not get the equalizer.Here are the 5 major talking points from the game:

#1 The Chennai formation

Marco Materazzi decided that 3 at the back was the way Chennai were going to go. And it did work for the Italian as his 3 centre backs put in commanding displays.

Under the able leadership of Mikael Silvestre, Bernard Mendy and Gouramangi Singh did not put a foot wrong throughout the game, although Silvestre will be held liable as he was caught flat footed for the one goal that Chennai conceded.

What also helped Materazzi was that his wing backs Abhishek Das and Dhanachandra Singh were always full of energy, thwarting whatever the Goa wingers had to offer.

#2 Robert Pires gets battered

In a game where tackles flew in left, right and centre, one man who bore the brunt of it all was Arsenal legend Robert Pires. Chennai came out with a clear game plan. They knew that it would be catastrophic to allow the Frenchman space and time on the ball. So, they closed him down with great gusto.

But sometimes, it seemed that Chennai were too eager to not allow Pires to weave his magic, and the likes of Denson Devadas and Elano picked up bookings for rough challenges on the Goa captain.

That seemed to get to Pires as he was seen often complaining to the referee, and could not have the influence on the game that he would have liked.

#3 First Indian goalscorer in the ISL

Balwant Singh wrote his name into the history books as he became the first Indian to score in the ISL. He did what FC Goa could not all through the game, as he made the most of the lucky break he got, while Goa failed to convert theirs.

Although fortuitous, Balwant’s was an important goal, as it came during a period when Chennaiyin FC were gradually gaining a foothold in the match after a slow start. Neat play down the left flank between Bojan Djordjic and Dhanachandra Singh saw the wing back put in a cross that was unconvincingly cleared by the Goa defense straight into the path of Elano. The Brazilian was tackled but the loose ball fell to Balwant whose shot deflected off the keeper’s legs into the net.

#4 Samba Magic

From open play, Elano did not have the sort of impact for Chennai as, say, a Luis Garcia did for Atletico de Kolkata. But, it was a moment of sheer quality from the Brazilian just before half time that gave Chennai some breathing space.

Goa had previously given away a free kick from which Elano hit the top of the wall, but he had been given a glimpse. When a second opportunity came calling, he was going to make Goa pay. It was a beautifully floated free kick that curled around the wall into the far top corner.

Although his playmaking was not upto his own high standards, Elano was able to make an impact on the game. He will only get better as he acclimatizes to the weather and his teammates.

#5 Goa make a fist of it

Trailing by two goals at half time, there must have been a few harsh words spoken by Zico in the Goa dressing room. Whatever it was that Zico said, it seemed to galvanize his players as they came out all guns blazing after the break. They were eventually rewarded in the 65th minute when Gregory Arnolin turned in a low cross from his central defensive partner Youness Bengelloun.

Goa had a couple of chances to draw level late on. Both of them fell to crowd favourite Ranti Martins but he was denied by some brilliance on both occasions, first by goalkeeper Gennaro Bracigliano and then by a heroic block from the excellent Mendy.