Chennaiyin FC returned to winning ways in the 2015 Hero Indian Super League following a thumping 4-1 win against Kerala Blasters FC at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in Chennai on Saturday evening. With their first win in four matches, the Super Machans left the bottom of the points table and moved two places up to sixth. Stiven Mendoza provided the star-turn for the home side as he scored his second hat-trick of the season while one goal came from Dhanachandra Singh. Speaking to the media after the win, Chennaiyin FC coach Marco Materazzi praised the Colombian striker no end for bringing the team back into the semis reckoning.“He is one of the outstanding performers and the best I have ever seen so far in the team. If he plays the way he is doing right now, we have all the chances to make it to the semi-finals,” Materazzi told reporters.The Italian also spoke of defensive midfielder Raphael Augusto in glowing terms. “Everyone saw today what he is capable of. The credit should go to the player and the club,” Materazzi said.Materazzi took a big gamble today by not playing their star player Elano. He went in instead with Bruno Pelissari and the move paid off as Pelissari had a very good day at the office. Materazzi was pleased. “Bruno has a calm head and is an important player in the team. He has the winning instinct in him and the way he has responded to my faith in him shows a lot of character. He never complained and took it in his stride and that has made him a better player,” he said.Chennaiyin FC now host Delhi Dynamos FC on Tuesday. Talking about the upcoming game at home, Materazzi said: “We have games every three days. We won’t rest on our laurels. We have to keep our head low and keep on training hard.”
