Chennaiyin FC’s last memories of a home game in the Indian Super League (ISL) were special – hundreds of fans dancing around the stadium, the players and coach rejoicing to local songs, having secured a playoff finish after four years.
On September 26, as it plays its first home game, against newly-promoted Mohammedan Sporting Club at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium this season, Owen Coyle’s boys will look to continue turning the wheels, following a 3-2 win over Odisha FC in its opening match.
“The boys are hungry and looking forward to the game. What we have to do is to level that performance (against Odisha). There are little things that we can do better (from that match) because we can make sure that we are working and focusing on them,” Coyle told reporters at the pre-match press conference.
Coyle has stuck with the nucleus of his team’s attack from last season, along with players he has known at former clubs, leading to a uniform counter-attacking approach.
Farukh Chaudhary, Conor Shields and Irfan Yadwad, along with Daniel Chima Chukwu (played under Coyle at Jamshedpur FC) complete the quartet that led the comeback win against Juggernauts.
Owen Coyle has stuck with the nucleus of his team’s attack from last season. | Photo Credit: R. Ragu/The Hindu
Against Mohammedan, a similar trend is expected, though the underlying point of caution for both sides would be not to concede late goals – one that saw the Black Panthers lose (0-1 vs NorthEast United) and draw (1-1 vs FC Goa) a game each so far.
“We cannot forget that we played against good teams who have some of the best Indian and foreign players. Also, they pressed at the last minute to change the results. We need to maintain concentration at the last moments of the match,” Andrey Chernyshov, Mohammedan’s head coach, told reporters.
“For us, this is our first away game and that is a new experience for us. But it is very important to keep our philosophy intact, irrespective of where we play.”
Coyle trod the same path, insisting that his team will look to avoid ‘soft goals’. In the previous game, Chennaiyin survived a nervy finish after it conceded a goal in second-half injury time, off Roy Krishna.
Late goals have been the norm this season. Out of 38 goals in the first 12 matches, over one-third (13) have come after the 85th minute. “The game is never over till you hear the final whistle,” Coyle opined.
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The clash will be the first competitive match between the two sides, with the previous match between them being a pre-season friendly last year that ended in a 1-1 draw.
Coyle added that Chennaiyin will have its full squad available for the game while Mohammedan will rue a few injury woes. Its Ghanaian centre-back Abdul Kadiri Mohammed remains unavailable for the season, having suffered an ACL injury days before their opening game while Mohammed Jassim has just begun his rehab.
Andrey Chernyshov Head Coach of Mohammedan Sporting Club has injury concerns ahead of the match against Chennaiyin. Abhijit Addya/Focus Sports/ FSDL | Photo Credit: Dipayan Bose
“It (the injury) is (for) a long time. He cannot work with the first team for an extended period as he has started working with the squad just recently. (Chara) Rochharzela had a fever in the last few days but he is back, which is good news for the team,” Chernyshov said.
Mohammedan’s historic I-League title win last year had come in an away fixture, with a 2-1 win over Shillong Lajong. Against Chennaiyin, the Kolkata-based outfit will hope to have fortunes again in its favour, away from home, in a new league altogether.
The match is scheduled for a 7:30 pm kick-off IST.
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