Lukasz Gikiewicz celebrates after scoring his first goal in the 2021-22 ISL season.
Former champions Chennaiyin FC secured their fifth spot in the Indian Super League after beating Jamshedpur FC 1-0 victory on Sunday at the Athletic Stadium in Bambolim. The Marina Machans registered their first win after losing two straight games.
Jamshedpur FC had an aggressive start to the match as they almost scored in just four minutes. Seiminlen Doungel mis-hit the shot over the goal as the score remained 0-0. The game was a tightly contested affair, around the 15-minute mark as both teams had close to equal possession. Jamshedpur had 48 per cent while Chennaiyin had 52 per cent.
The deadlock continued until the 34th minute as Lukasz Gikiewicz found himself left alone as he hit the perfect to put Chennaiyin FC ahead. Vladimir Koman sent out the cross towards the Polish striker, who was left unmarked and scored his first goal of the tournament. Jamshedpur's Greg Stewart had a brilliant opportunity at the end of the first half to score the equaliser, but he overhit the shot from the edge of the penalty area.
The second half was full of missed chances, as both teams couldn't find the back of the net. Chennaiyin FC continued controlling the game as they played out the remaining half to register their fourth victory in the 2021-22 ISl.
In the post-match press conference, Mohd Sajid Doht won the Hero of the Match award and said, "Firstly, I want to thank everybody who have supported me. I am very happy that we won the match . It is more important than hero the match. There's a long way to go. This is just the start to 2022. We'll take it game by game."
Owen Coyle, Jamshedpur FC manager, threw light on the drawbacks of his team against the Marina Machans. Coyle said, "Chennaiyin is a very good side with a very good coach. We had some wonderful opportunities. We never took them today. We didn't have the cutting edge in the final half, but we'll come back."
Bozidar Bandovic, Chennaiyin FC manager, was elated after the game as he said, "It was a strong game for us after losing two games. Tactically, they (Jamshedpur) made some changes in the second half and they had some moments. We had a problem with Koman last night and we were not sure if he was even going to play.
He (Sajid) has been with us for a long time. We were preparing him physically and tactically for this game. This is very important for us. It's not only about the game, he is a great character too."