It wasn’t the start Chennaiyin FC would have hope for, especially at home as the defending ISL champions crashed to a 1-3 defeat against Delhi Dynamos here on Thursday.
Chennaiyin and Dynamos both had scares during the first 15 minutes. Jeje Lalpekhlua’s volley was saved by a diving Antonio Doblas while Dynamos forward Richard Gadze’s goal was disallowed for his foul on goalkeeper Dwayne Kerr.
Delhi, though, weren’t quiet for long as they earned a penalty after midfielder Milang Singh was brought down by Kerr. Brazilian Marcelo Pereira made no mistake from the spot to silence the boisterous home crowd. Chennaiyin’s response was, however, swift. After being set up by a brilliant through ball by Jeje, Dudu found the equaliser with aplomb.
Dudu’s goal was the last piece of good news for Chennaiyin in the evening as their defence wilted under Delhi’s relentless pressure. A long ball from Gadze found Pereira who beat Kerr all ends up with a sumptuous finish. The visitors could have doubled the lead before half-time had forward Francis Lewis not failed to capitalise on a fumble by defender Bernard Mendy.
The visitors looked relaxed, passing the ball around neatly in search of chances to penetrate the box. Looking for a desperate goal, Materazzi replaced defensive midfielder Raphael Agusto with Succi. A goal was indeed scored but it was at the other end as substitute Badara Badji rounded off a fine day for Delhi in the 83rd minute.
