Chennai (Tamil Nadu) [India], January 9 (ANI): Wilmar Jordan Gil scored a quickfire brace, taking his tally to eight for the season, in Chennaiyin FC’s 2-2 home draw versus Odisha FC in the Indian Super League 2024-25 on Thursday.
According to a release from Chennaiyin FC, CFC head coach Owen Coyle fielded an all-Indian backline, featuring the return of Ankit Mukherjee, who was named in the starting lineup for the first time since his injury. Up front, the tactician went for an all-out attack, with Lukas Brambilla, Irfan Yadwad, Connor Shields, Daniel Chima Chukwu, and Wilmar Jordan Gil all starting.
Chennaiyin started and finished the first half with the better share of chances, going close through Brambilla and Jordan Gil in minutes 15 and 30, respectively. In between those opportunities, goalkeeper Mohammad Nawaz prevented the visitors from taking the lead against the run of play with a smart, low stop.
The Marina Machans manufactured the best chance of the match seconds after the break when Brambilla’s shot forced Amrinder Singh to tip the ball over the bar. However, Chennaiyin’s intent paid off in the 48th minute, when Shields intercepted a loose pass from Amrinder and squared the ball for Jordan Gil for an easy tap-in.
Five minutes after the Marina Machans had taken the lead, they struck again, much to the delight of the home fans. As they had for the opener, Shields and Jordan Gil combined to double the hosts’ lead with a near-identical goal, albeit from the opposite flank.
Sixty-four minutes in, a quick Chennaiyin breakaway saw Brambilla run to the byline before hanging the ball in the air toward Jordan Gil, who missed out on his hat trick when his header crashed the post. Seconds later, as the play switched to the other side, Bikash Yumnam bravely threw his body on the line to deny Diego Mauricio, but at the cost of his availability.
With ten minutes to go in normal time, Odisha cut Chennaiyin’s lead in half with Dorielton bundling the ball in from an offside position. The Juggernauts scored a second in the eighth minute of stoppage time, with the unfortunate Nawaz deflecting the ball into his net, seconds after making a brilliant save.
Chennaiyin will now look to bounce back when they take on Mohammedan SC on January 15, Wednesday, away from home. (ANI)
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