ISL 2024-25: Chennaiyin FC ends below-par season with comfortable win against Jamshedpur FC

ISL 2024-25: Chennaiyin FC ends below-par season with comfortable win against Jamshedpur FC

Chennaiyin FC pulled the curtains on a below-par Indian Super League season with a consolation 5-2 win against Jamshedpur FC at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in Chennai on Sunday.

Irfan Yadwad and Daniel Chima Chukwu scored a brace each and Lukas Brambilla added to the tally while Rei Tachikawa and Mohammed Sanan scored for the visitor.

The home side started the game strong with Brambilla twisting his way in from the left and testing opposition goalkeeper Albino Gomes from outside the box.

The visitor’s first attempt came in the 10th minute through centre-back Lazar Cirkovic who failed to keep his header below the crossbar after meeting a long throw-in from Ashutosh Mehta.

The Red Miners found a breakthrough eight minutes later after Tachikawa latched onto a clearance from Irfan after a long throw from Muhammed Uvais. The Japanese midfielder caught the ball on the half-volley outside the box and it skipped across the grass and went into the back of the net after taking a fortunate deflection off defender Elsinho.

Brambilla, CFC’s creative mind in the absence of an injured Connor Shields, almost found the equaliser three minutes later after trying to find the bottom corner with a low and cheeky free-kick from the edge of the box. Gomes however, anticipated the attempt and got across to make a good save.

The host levelled things up five minutes before the half-hour mark after Brambilla set Farukh Choudhary away on a counterattack. The former JFC winger ran halfway across the field before laying it off only as far as Uvais, whose failed clearance at the edge of the box was pounced upon by Chukwu. The Nigerian buried the ball into the bottom left corner for his fifth goal of the season.

CFC used the momentum to keep pressure on its opponent and had the chance to take the lead minutes later when Brambilla lifted the ball away from a rushing Gomes inside the box. However, with the goal at his mercy, Brambilla was denied by a formidable block by Stephen Eze.

One minute later, at the other end, Elsinho produced an even better clearance, sliding in to push away Sanan’s low driving shot off the goal line.

On the stroke of halftime, Khalid Jamil’s hopes of heading into the break on level terms were quashed by a moment of individual brilliance from Brambilla. The Brazilian received the ball out wide on the left and wormed his way into the box before placing it into the far corner to take the lead.

Twelve minutes into the second half, it was the host that extended its lead after Farukh played a weighted through ball into the path of Irfan. The 23-year-old, who has started all games this season, kept his composure and shot the ball in between Gomes’ legs and into the goal.

Trailing by two goals at the hour mark, Jamil’s substitutions worked like a charm as Jordan Murray and Irfan Khan combined on the right side of the pitch to set up Tachikawa inside the box. He cut back a pass into the middle which was dutifully smashed into the goal by an arriving Sanan.

After getting one back, the visitor turned up the heat and forced CFC ‘keeper Samik Mitra to make a couple of good strong saves.

With just a minute left in regulation time, Irfan put the game to bed after receiving the ball from Wilmar Jordan Gil and scooping the ball with the outside of his foot past Gomes to restore CFC’s two-goal lead.

Six minutes later, Chukwu gave the home fans an ecstatic end to their season after effortlessly placing the ball into the back of the net after meeting a pin-point through ball from Brambilla.

Despite the win CFC remains 11th in the table while JFC, which has already qualified for the playoffs, is fifth.

Published on Mar 09, 2025