That's it! It's full-time! Valskis is the match-winner for Chennaiyin FC! The club's first win after seven matches and it wasn't without late drama. It's Chennaiyin's first ISL win in 289 days. Local boy Edwin dances and delights the supporters. We will be back with more reaction, match report from this mental game on our site. So be tuned in. And good luck to my colleague Manasi Pathak for trying to re-write the match report after that last seven minutes. Until then it's goodbye from us.
Hyderabad coach Phil Brown looks like he has seen a ghost!
90' + 7' - GOOAAALLL!! We have a winner!! What on earth is happening at the Marina Arena! Valksis is through on goal and he is calm enough to slot in the winner and the stadium erupts in delight! Valskis wheels away in celebration and assistant coach Sabir Pasha is the first one to join him. Even John Gregory can't help but run and join the lads. The fans are up in celebrations with the shirts coming off in the stands.
90' + 5' - GOAAL!! And it's an equaliser! Can you believe that? Unvelievable. Kilgallon climbs high from a corner to thump in a header! And just like that it's 1-1!
90' + 2' - GOALLL!!! ANDRE SCHEMBRIIII IS A CHENNAI HERO!!!! Of sorts.... He turns and scores a goal out of nothing! He finally breaches Kamaljit's goal! The shirt comes off from Schembri! The celebrations are wild. The players all run in to join Schembri and it all seems like a setting of a championship winning celebration! The goal drought of 756 minutes comes to a end!
Five minutes of added time for Chennaiyin or Hyderabad to get a winner.
86' - Chennaiyin piling on the pressure with a flurry of corners and crosses before the assistant puts his flag up for offside. Replay suggests its for Germanpreet's cross going out of play before it came back in.
85' - Chhangte puts in a right cross for once but Valskis goes into the ball in two minds and in the end he goes in half heartedly with his feet and misses it. He should have gone in flying with his head and scored from that range.
Gurtej gets a yellow card for his part in that.
A little altercation from Dragos and Gurtej gets the crowd going.
83' - Eli Sabia's header from a corner is on target but Kamljit is right behind it and collects it easily.
83' - Andre Schembri comes on for Rafael Crivellaro.
You could actually hear John Gregory mouthing off on the touchline. There's absolute silence in the stands.
Second change for Hyderabad. Rohit Kumar is replaced by Shankar Sampingiraj.
79' - Nothing suggests that either of the teams will score a goal here. Teams are playing at a walking pace.
77' - The second ball falls on the edge of the box free for Marcelinho, who doesn't connect well with his volley and it goes wide.
74' - Rafael's shot is blocked by three Hyderabad players!
73' - Gurtej climbs onto Chhangte in clearing the ball. That battle between the pair has been tasty tonight.
70' - Robin Singh wastes a good opportunity to find Marcelinho on the break.
68' - First two changes for Chennaiyin. Maish and Thoi are removed for Germanpreet and Dragos.
Tondonba is down receiving treatment. He is back up now and okay to continue.
66' - Yasir makes a surging run down the right flank and into Chennaiyin's box but his cut-back is intercepted and cleared by Masih.
Change for Hyderabad FC. Bobo goes off for Gani Nigam.
62' - Eli Sabia hits the cross bar! The centre-back is allowed time and space to run up with the ball and plays a nice interchange with Thapa. He sets himself up to take a thunderous effort from distance which narrowly misses the goal.
Chhangte has struggled this second half. Yasir now fights him off the ball. Earlier, Gurtej dealt with his pace well.
60' - Yellow card for Bobo for a high boot on Tondonba.
59' - Another save from Kamaljit! Rafael with a rasping drive from distance after fending off the challenge from Stankovic. Kamljit stuck his arm out to push the ball over the bar!
58' - Vishal with a crucial save to deny Marcelinho's effort on the angle.
54' - Rafael with a cross field to find Thoi on the right. The winger clips in a cross into the center where Goian heads it over the bar.
Kamaljit has been the saviour for Hyderabad team which has had a non-existent midfield in this game.
51' - Chennaiyin on the break through Rafael, who plays in Thoi on the right side. His shot is saved by the finger tips of Kamaljit, who manages to push it on to the post.
50' - Thapa rifles a shot from distance but it's straight into the hands of Kamaljit!
47' - Thapa is booked for a lunging tackle on Yasir. A wry smile from Thapa after going into the referee's note book.
46' - We are underway for the second half.
SECOND HALF
Frustrated by this goalless scoreline at half-time? Last night's story was no different. If you missed the Odisha FC vs ATK game, catch up with the biggest talking points on The Full Time Show.
It's half-time at the Nehru Stadium and its been a familiar story for Chennaiyin FC as it goes goalless into half-time despite having a host of chances.
45' + 1' - One minute of added time. Another lucky escape for Chennaiyin as Marcelinho is flagged offside incorrectly once again.
45' - How on earth did he miss that!? Robin Singh played one-on-one with Vishal by Bobo but he smashes his shot against the side netting!
43' - Thapa with a darting run through Hyderabad's defence and puts in a cross for Thoi. Kilgallon, however, meets the the ball crucially before Thoi to put it behind for a corner.
42' - Thoi's header on target from inside the box is blocked by Bobo.
41' - Thoi Singh gets the better of Kilgallon before striking the ball off him which goes behind for a corner.
40' - Marcelinho swings in a corner and it's cleared away from the box from Chennaiyin defender.
38' - Ball is set up for Bobo after Marcelinho's darting run is cut-off by Tondonba. His shot from distance flies over the bar.
36' - Chennaiyin work its way to slice through Hyderabad defence but Thoi Singh is flagged offside.
32' - Another save from Hyderabad FC and is cleared off the line! Thapa is found by Chhangte and the midfielder fires a shot on the turn which is deprived off its sting first by Kamaljit before it was stopped by Rafa Lopez on the line to deny the ball from rolling into the net.
It's now 708 minutes without a goal for Chennaiyin in the ISL
29' - Stankovic has a go from distance after a flick on from the striker Bobo. The shot is wayward.
28' - Foul outside Chennaiyin's box in Marcelinho territory. His free-kick is just over the bar. It was a bit close to goal and he couldn't bring it down.
25' - HOW DID HE MISS THAT?! Superb from Thoi to take the ball and run around Rafa Lopez to put in a superb cross for Chhangte, who is unmarked in the box. With all the time in the world, Chhangte puts his header wide! Grgeory is incensed.
Hyderabad living dangerously here and is saved by Chennaiyin's wasteful finishing.
22'- Where did Edwin come from?! The right-back pounced on to the loose ball inside Hyderabad's box, checks in to the left before taking a shot with his left foot. Fortunately for Hyderabad, Kamaljit was back on his feet quickly to position himself to save that shot!
19' - Rafael once again at the heart of Chennaiyin's attack. Thapa wins the ball and finds Rafael. Rafael leaves Gurtej in his wake and releases Chhangte, who has to chase it down before putting in a cut back into the box. Rohit Kumar intercepts it and nearly puts in to his own box but for the right hand of Kamaljit, who keeps it out.
Chennaiyin has found life in attack after the slow first 10 minutes but hasn't found the finish yet.
16' - Rafael makes a superb from from his own half and finds Chhangte with a disguised outside of the foot box. Chhangte is under pressure and his off balance shot is deflected behind by Gurtej.
14' - A break for Chennaiyin and Rafael sprints forward and finds Chhangte free on the left, but his cut back is blocked and cleared away from danger. Rafael also had an option to find Valskis, too, but he chose the other option.
12' - Thapa is fouled by Rohit Kumar. Rafael steps up to take the set piece. Foul inside Hyderabad box and freekick goes in favour of the away side.
11' - Marcelinho collects the ball behind Chennaiyin's defence after a flick on from Robin but the Brazilian is flagged offside. Replay shows he has clearly onside. Lucky escape for Chennaiyin.
10' - Edwin comes infield and is found by Rafael outside Hyderabad box. The right back cuts in and takes a shot with his weaker foot which is blocked.
8' - Tondonba with a cross from the left and it requires Kamaljit to get in before Thoi SIngh to snaffe the ball up.
7' - Nice little interchange between Thapa and Thoi and the former tees up Rafael at the edge of the box. Rafael's stinging effort is blocked by Lopez.
It's not been an explosive start from Chennaiyin as we have some to see in the last two home matches. Measured approach thus far.
5' - Another foul from Marcekinho and it's another free-kick.
3' - Three minutes in and Masih makes a crunching tackle to dispossess Hyderabad FC player off the ball.
1' - Chenaniyin kicks things off and Rafael wins a free-kick on the left flank. Sabia doesn't get the right connection from the set piece inside the Hyderabad box.
FIRST HALF
Englishmen Gregory and Brown are engaged in a big hug before the hostilities on the touchline ensues.
We are just a few minutes away from kick-off. Chennaiyin's co-owner Abhishek Bachchan is in the stands for the first time this season. He looks a bit tensed for some reason. He is also sporting a moustache and a dhoti...
Phil Brown has made three changes to his XI from the home defeat to NorthEast United. Robin Singh and Bobo are back to lead the line in attack and Rafael Lopez will slot in as the centre-back in the 3-5-2 formation.
Gregory has brought back Chhangte into the starting XI and Thoi Singh gets a first start of the season. Masih Saighani, too, gets a starting berth after three matches. As expected, Chennai outfit would be lining up in a 4-2-3-1 formation with Rafael playing behind Valskis.
Nothing much came out of Chennaiyin since its last game in the ISL before the international break. From the post-match press conference after the 0-3 loss to Bengaluru FC, it seemed like John Gregory was destined for an exit. Post the break, Gregory seems to have put behind his meltdown and seems recharged to help get the team the first goal and win of the season. Chennaiyin hasn't scored a goal in the ISL in over 11 hours (678 minutes).
PREVIEW by Manasi Pathak
Languishing at the bottom of the points table with no wins to boast, Chennaiyin FC heads into its third home match of the Indian Super League 2019-20 season on Monday.
After a 3-0 thrashing at the hands of Bengaluru FC, Chennaiyin gears up for Hyderabad FC -- a team that has had a similar fortune as the Chennai outfit, and sits just one spot above it in the league table.
RELATED| ISL 2019-20: Bengaluru FC thumps Chennaiyin FC - Talking points
For a side that has only one point from four games, the international break would be expected to help its coach regroup the team. But for coach John Gregory, such was not the case. “It is not always a good time when you have a break because you take so long to recover from a defeat. It lingers for many days and for a coach, it lingers even longer,” he said at the pre-match conference on Sunday.
Gregory, however, added that he would like his team to repeat the performance from its previous two home matches. Against Mumbai City and ATK at the Marina Arena, Chennaiyin had 14 shots and 16 shots on target, respectively, though it failed to find the net. “We have had a long time to think about the last match and also for the Hyderabad match. If we put in the performance (like we did) against Mumbai and ATK, we have a much better chance to take six points (from our two upcoming home games),” he said.
For defender Lucian Goian -- who made the switch from Mumbai this year -- Chennaiyin’s sub-par start to the season is not an unfamiliar situation. Last year, Mumbai had one win from its first four games and had leaked six goals.
“It was a similar situation where our confidence was down but after that, we started winning and further qualified for the playoffs. I am sure we can do this at Chennaiyin too,” he said. “We have the quality here but we are just missing the goals -- which is a pressure on all of us and not just the people in front (the strikers).”
Indeed, Chennaiyin has been poor up top with its strikers misfiring. Forwards Andre Schembri and Nerijus Valskis both had no shots on target in the clash against Bengaluru, while Rafael Crivellaro couldn’t create an impact from the middle. Jeje Lalpekhlua’s absence in the attack has so far hurt Gregory and Co. but the Indian international is still recovering from his knee injury and can be expected to “at least make the bench” by December.
Chennaiyin, though, will be happy with its midfielders Lallianzuala Chhangte and Anirudh Thapa returning from national camp with no injuries, although neither were unused in India's results.
Hyderabad will be without Adil Khan, who has been sidelined owing to an injury he suffered during the break. Nonetheless, coach Phil Brown was rather “relaxed” as he said the team was heading in the right direction despite just a win in four games.
“Now the best part for me as a coach is that there is competition amongst players to be in the starting line-up as all of them are fit,” he said. “ We know what we are doing and what are the targets.”
RELATED| ISL 2019: Hyderabad FC is in the right direction now, says coach Phil Brown
“We certainly defended well in the last two games and only a lapse of concentration and a poor referees decision cost us the last match against NorthEast United FC,” Brown said. “But, we are in the right direction now, heading towards the positive end of the game which is more important for me.”
The clash between Chennaiyin and Hyderabad will be a battle between the two most underwhelming sides so far but the visiting side on Monday could be the stronger of two teams given its two foreigners, namely Marko Stankovic and Marcelinho, are proven figures in the league and can outplay Chennaiyin’s sub-par foreign attackers.
The onus thus will be on Hyderabad to pick full points against Gregory’s side, which is sinking with each coming game. A loss on Monday for Chennaiyin will raise further questions for Gregory, who has been rumoured for an exit. “Football will never surprise you. Who knows?” he said as he tried to answer about his managerial future.
The match will be live on Star Sports network and streaming on Hotstar, kick-off at 7.30 pm (IST).
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