Chennaiyin FC suffered a 0-2 loss against Odisha FC in its opening match of the Indian Super League 2023-24 at the Kalinga Stadium in Bhubaneswar on Saturday.
Jerry Mawihmingthanga scored the opening goal of the match in the 44th minute while Diego Mauricio (62nd) added the second goal for Odisha FC.
Chennaiyin FC created several goal-scoring opportunities but missed the finishing touch. One of such chances came in the 21st minute when Rafael Crivellaro’s strike was blocked by the opponent goalkeeper from the close distance.
The visitors had almost opened their account in the 43rd minute but Connor Shields couldn’t manage to convert a cross from Aakash Sangwan. Later, Farukh Choudhary’s header went over the bar six minutes before the end.
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“I think Odisha took the chances. My lads were excellent today, out with giving those mistakes away. We need to get better; we need to make sure that we’re cutting out the errors and we’re clinical at the other end. And if we do that, it will see us winning a lot of games, that’s for sure. We already look as if we’re a good team. In terms of the goal chances, we certainly had far more than what Odisha had,” Chennaiyin head coach Owen Coyle commented after the match.
Earlier, both sides continued their hunt for the opener relentlessly after a short interval due to rain. Chennaiyin goalkeeper Samik Mitra denied Odisha the lead in the 23rd minute with a brilliant save to keep out Isak Vanlalruatfela’s left-footed shot from the centre of the box.
However, Mawihmingthanga put the hosts in the lead just before the half-time whistle when he guided Amey Ranawade pass to the bottom left corner with a left-footed strike.
Odisha doubled its lead in the 62nd minute with Mauricio getting his name on the scoresheet.
Chennaiyin will next face NorthEast United FC in its second game of the season in Guwahati on September 29 while Odisha is scheduled to play a home game against Mumbai City FC on September 28.
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