Chennaiyin looked to be ending their league campaign on a high after racing to a 2-0 lead over Delhi Dynamos within the first half an hour of the game. However, a remarkable fightback from the visitors saw Chennaiyin pegged back to a 2-2 draw.Head coach Marco Materazzi, who also came on as a second-half substitute, was not too perturbed by the result, although he wished his team had converted their chances and added to their lead to rule out any chance of a Delhi comeback. “It is not ideal because we had enough chances to kill the game before they scored the first goal,” said the Italian gaffer at the post-match press conference.However, with Chennai’s place in the top-two secure prior to this match, Materazzi said the result was more or less inconsequential for his side, and he was looking forward to the semifinals. “It makes no difference to us as we were going to play the second leg at home in the semi-final irrespective of today's result,” Materazzi quipped.Materazzi did reflect on Chennai’s first-half performance, in which Bruno Pelissari scored a stunner directly from a corner kick before Jeje Lalpekhlua finished off a sweeping team move to double the lead. Materazzi was purring about the second goal.“I think it was one of the best team goals of the tournament. There was great passing and movement,” Materazzi exulted. The goal was all the more satisfying because of the involvement of many Indian players in the buildup. Denson Devadas’ strength on the ball allowed Jeje to bring it forward, and the forward picked out Balwant Singh with a cross-field pass. Singh’s superb diagonal was perfectly into the path of Harmanjot Khabra, whose precise cross was emphatically finished by Jeje. “I am happy that Indian players were involved in the move!” he said delightedly.Materazzi gave former Italy teammate Alessandro Nesta, Chennaiyin’s new signing, his ISL debut, and the former Lazio and AC Milan defender provided an assured presence at the back before being taken off at halftime. Delhi’s goals came with Nesta off the pitch, but Materazzi explained that it would have been imprudent to keep Nesta on for longer. “He only had his first training session yesterday, so our plan was to play him only 45 minutes,” said former Inter Milan defender Materazzi, who contested several Milan derbies against Nesta during their time in Italy. “Now he will rest and recover and prepare for the semis. Hopefully we will have all players available for the semi-finals.”Defender Gouramangi Singh, who was the player to come on for Nesta, made his return from a lengthy injury layoff, and joined his head coach at the post-match press conference. “It was nice to be back on the pitch after injury,” said the Imphal, Manipur-born player. “I am thankful to the coach to give me 45 minutes.”He was on the pitch for Delhi’s comeback, although he and the Chennaiyin defence were powerless to stop Alessandro del Piero’s free kick and Hans Mulder’s late equaliser from a stunning shot from outside the box. “We should have won the game,” Gouramangi said ruefully, before adding, “but these things happen in football sometimes.” The 28-year-old was certain his teammates would put the result behind them and regroup for the semifinals. “We won't think much about it because we have the semi-finals to look forward to,” he said, echoing his head coach.
