A dozen chances came Chennai City FC's way but it failed to convert any and instead settled for a goalless draw against Indian Arrows in the Hero I-league clash at the Nehru Stadium here on Saturday.
CCFC was put to test in the opening minute when Arrows surprised its defence with a curling cross from Rahim Ali. But the agile CCFC custodian Uros Poljanec palmed it away in time.
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Four minutes later, Jean Joachim strided smartly into the box and slammed it at the goal only to hit the top of the bar.
Both teams showed a sense of urgency from there. They planned their passes and marched forward but the defenders did their job to perfection.
Edwin Vanspaul did threaten to score in the 35th minute but his powerful right-footer from the edge of the box sailed agonisingly close to the goalpost.
CCFC captain Soosairaj and Edwin Vanspaul were the duo who packed a lot of punch. Much was expected of striker Jean Joachim but he failed to inspire in the first session, which saw injuries, cards and chances go abegging.
The second half saw Joachim dribbling past four defenders a minute from start. He had just the goalkeeper to beat but instead sailed it outside.
In the 58th minute, it was Joachim once again. The nicely-built striker from France cashed in on a fumble by Arrows custodian Gill and headed it home but the referee quickly disallowed citing it off-side.
The contest suddenly seemed to turn hot. Joachim came up with yet another magical run in the 64th minute but was wayward again with his shot.
Seven minutes later, CCFC's Henry Tesong was flashed the red card for stepping on Abhijit Sarkar. It resulted in a minor scuffle between the players and saw two more yellow cards out. With only ten-men to tackle, Arrows went for the kill and so did the brave CCFC men but it was not enough at the final whistle.
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