Chennaiyin FC, after a tumultuous last season, may have turned to head coach Thomas Brdaric, but just four wins in 17 matches have forced the Marina Machans to bask in past ISL glory.
Seven points of a possible 24 in eight home games (so far) have turned Chennaiyin’s fortress, the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, into a porous playing field for other ISL teams. The fan support, naturally, has slumped. But the CFC loyals, the bellwether of Chennaiyin’s fan chants, face paints and banners, still embraced the stands, hoping for wins, for captain Anirudh Thapa to score and for the club to get back to days when wingers like Steven Mendoza were a nightmare for the opposition defence.
David Sting, the fan present in every CFC game with distinct white paint on his face, and the Super Machans, with their banners flying high, kept the noise going during games.
The cheers turned raucous when Odisha FC travelled for the match and a banner of Nandhakumar Sekar was unfurled in the stands by OFC fans. Football, after all, is a game of raw emotions and the clash against Odisha had it all — verbal clashes with away fans, plenty of goals and a controversial referee decision that inexorably put a question on the officiating of Indian Super League matches.
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In the second half, Chennayin’s key man, Abdenasser El-Khayati, was kicked by Lalruathhara in the penalty box. But the referee, despite vehement remonstrations from the CFC players, did not give a foul.
While the incident had no further repercussions, Chennaiyin will look to make a last push in its bid for the playoffs. In fact, so will the fans.
Ankit’s antics
The pressure of performing often has its effect on the minds of the players. The ISL has its own pressure situations which Ankit Mukherjee discovered to his own peril. The East Bengal defender earned the wrath of the fans and the displeasure of the team management when he furiously threw his jersey to show disgust at coach Stephen Constantine’s decision to replace him early (16th minute) in the match against Kerala Blasters FC. East Bengal went on to win the match but Ankit’s behaviour soured the win for the fans. Many East Bengal fan groups showed their displeasure and called for his head after images of him hurling his jersey to the ground went viral.
“Ankit had a hamstring injury, but he was insisting he was fine. Three big mistakes later, I decided to take him off as we could have conceded a goal. I am pretty sure the club will take action against him as this is the second time he has thrown the shirt like that. I don’t know if he has a future at East Bengal anymore,” said a visibly distraught Constantine, who had previously been the National coach on two occasions. Ankit has not figured in the East Bengal line-ups ever since the incident.
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