Chennaiyin FC won their third match on the trot in the Hero Indian Super League (Hero ISL) 2019-20 after beating Jamshedpur FC 4-1 at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in Chennai on Thursday. The win takes Chennaiyin up to the sixth spot in the table, while Jamshedpur drops down a place to seventh.

Chennaiyin started the contest on a bright note, pegging the Jamshedpur defence back with Rafael Crivellaro taking the first crack at goal in the third minute. The midfielder, however, flashed his effort high. The relentless pressure paid dividends in the 13th minute, as Valskis ran onto a pass by Schembri and slotted past Jamshedpur goalkeeper Subrata Paul to make it 1-0. It was the Lithuanian’s ninth goal of the season.

Jamshedpur could have levelled things up almost immediately at the other end. Vishal Kaith came out to clear a long pass, which was being chased by Farukh Choudhary. The Chennaiyin custodian completely misjudged the ball, giving Farukh a sight at goal. Fortunately for the home team, Lucian Goian had covered the distance to clear the danger.

In the 17th minute, Schembri squandered a golden opportunity to double Chennaiyin’s lead. Subrata came out to punch clear an Edwin Vanspaul corner but couldn’t connect, giving Schembri a free header at goal. But the Chennaiyin frontman’s effort ended up in the wrong side of the woodwork.

Jamshedpur, meanwhile, created little of note and failed to worry the Chennaiyin defence too much until the 31st minute. Bikash Jairu steamed down the left flank and played in a looping cross for Sergio Castel to attack in the 6-yard box. The Spaniard mistimed his jump slightly, and as a result, failed to hit the target. Five minutes later, Schembri had a chance to score but scuffed his effort.

The last ten minutes of the half saw the match open up, with both teams trading chances. Castel saw his shot at goal diverted at the last moment around the 40-minute mark, while Subrata pulled off a brilliant save to deny Valskis at the other end.

In the 43rd minute, Schembri made amends for his earlier two misses as he headed home from a Crivellaro corner. The half time whistle sounded with the home team leading 2-0.

Jamshedpur showed much more intent after the restart, with Castel at the thick of things. The Chennaiyin defence, however, kept things tight at the back. Valskis had a big chance around the hour mark after Crivellaro found him with a cut back. The striker, however, ended up skying his shot.

In the 71st minute, Castel headed in a Joyner Lourenco cross from the right to make it 2-1. However, it took Chennaiyin just three minutes to restore their two-goal advantage. Valskis scored his 10th of the campaign after he was sent through on goal by Anirudh Thapa.

With Jamshedpur piling men forward in an attempt to salvage something out of the game, Chennaiyin grabbed their fourth of the night three minutes from regulation time, courtesy Chhangte. The match ended 4-1 in the home team’s favour.

Hero of the Match – Nerijus Valskis

The Lithuanian striker continued his rich vein of form and scored a brace to help Chennaiyin secure the win. He also became the first player this season to breach the 10-goal mark and was adjudged the Hero of the Match.

AWARDS

Club Award – Chennaiyin FC

Maruti Suzuki Limitless Player of the Match – Andre Schembri

DHL Winning Pass of the Match – Anirudh Thapa

ISL Emerging Player of the Match – Laldinliana Renthlei

Hero of the Match – Nerijus Valskis

Watch the match highlights here:

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Jamshedpur FCChennaiyin FC 2019-2020Match ReportMatch 65, Chennaiyin FC vs Jamshedpur FC - 2019