Chennaiyin FC played out their fourth draw of Hero Indian Super League 2016 against Mumbai City FC at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in Chennai on Wednesday. Jeje Lalpekhlua fired the hosts ahead in the 51st minute, however, a spectacular strike by Leo Costa made it 1-1 at full-time. The win puts the Super Machans in fourth spot with 10 points from seven matches.Speaking to the media at the post-match press conference, Chennai’s assistant coach Sabir Pasha failed to hide his disappointment. “The players were really disappointed because after giving such a good performance it was really unlucky but they showed a lot of character,” Pasha said.Looking ahead, Pasha made it clear that his side must try to win as many games as possible in the second half of the league stage if they’re to keep their hopes of making the semis and successfully defending their title. “We have to win matches to get in the semis and how many matches we have to win depends on how the other teams play but as I said earlier we have to win matches especially our home matches,” said Pasha.He added: “We are a good side and we deserve to be at the top of the table. It is unfortunate that we are in this position but it is not late so it is not that bad and the way we are playing, if we carry on, then we have a great chance of getting in the semi-finals.”Jeje, who is the highest scoring domestic player in the history of the league, netted his second goal of the season against Mumbai. Commenting on the India international’s performance, Pasha said: “Jeje is a great talent and Marco [Materazzi] is using him in a great way and knows when to play him and when not and it is also the talent of the coach knowing how to use him, so Jeje delivers whenever Marco wants, so the combination of Marco and Jeje is great and I think Jeje is a great player but there is still a long way to go.”Materazzi was absent from the dugout for Wednesday’s clash after being handed a one-match suspension for misconduct in the aftermath of the first south Indian derby of the season. When asked to sum up the experience of guiding his players from the touchline for the first time in the Hero ISL, Pasha said: “It’s part and parcel of being a coach and I am learning from Marco and it was great that he told me to monitor this match and I am thankful to him for giving me this opportunity.”
