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The sides placed in opposite halves of the league table shared the spoils on Tuesday at the Marina Arena as the game between CFC and MBSG finished in a scoreless stalemate.
ISL 2024-25: Chennaiyin FC and Mohun Bagan Super Giant (FSDL)
Chennaiyin FC managed to hold table-toppers Mohun Bagan Super Giant to a scoreless draw at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in Chennai on Tuesday in the Indian Super League 2024-25 encounter between the sides placed in opposite halves of the league table.
Despite repeated attempts from either side to break down the opposition defence the scoreboard remained stagnant from the first whistle to the last as the sides played out a 0-0 draw at the Marina Arena.
Chennai head coach opted to field Mohammad Nawaz in goal behind the defensive setup comprising new recruit Pritam Kotal, Vignesh Dakshinamurthy, Ryan Edwards and Elsinho. Connor Shields, Lalrinliana Hnamte, Jitendra Singh and Kiyan Nassiri made up the midfield with Wilmar Jordan Gil and Irfan Yadawad upfront.
Jose Molina fielded Vishal Kaith between the sticks with skipper Subhashish Bose, Alberto Rodriguez, Thomas Aldred and Ashish Rai in defense. Lalengwma Ralte and Deepak Tangri held the middle of the park for the visitors while Dimitrios Petratos orchestrated the play for Mohun Bagan from the centre. Abhishek Suryavanshi and Greg Steward were on either wing while Suhail Bhat was the lone striker for the Mariners.
The fixture had the makings of a game that could have highlighted the gulf in class between the side per the point table, but Chennai looked the more proactive right from kickoff. The home team looked oraganised at the back and maintained their shape so as to not cause any leaks such as the ones the Marina Machans have been susceptible to in recent weeks.
Chennai’s best chance of the opening essay came past half-an-hour on the clock as the hosts stitched up a brilliant passage of play on the right leading up to a dangerous cross brought down expertly by marksman Gil inside the box. However, Kaith made a hero of himself in front of the travelling MBSG fans with a stupendous save that perplexed the onlooking crowd as the Indian custodian got down to the ground to pull off a save with beast-like reflexes.
The Marina Machans probed the box yet again with another tantalizing cross into the middle that fell kindly for Nassiri to shoot, but his attempt was thwarted by a teammate and the attack came to nothing. Mohun Bagan surged forward in reply but couldn’t muster up enough craft to find themselves in a kind position to shoot from in the opposition area.
The visitors had a free-kick from close range four minutes after the restart, but Petratos’ ferocious effort could only rattle the side netting from just outside the box.
There was a prolonged interruption in play as Elsinho was brought down in the middle of the field and required medical attention before joining play. Former Mariner Nassiri produced a scintillating bit of play to juggle the ball over the head of an onrushing opponent, but was brought down before the end of the sequence as the deadlock persisted.
Coyle rolled the dice with a couple of fresh legs ten minutes from time in hopes of bringing about a change in the scoreline, but the Mariners had an answer to every question the hosts posted in a game that ultimately finished goalless.
