On the face of it, Chennaiyin FC coached by Marco Materazzi – a robust and World Cup winning centre-half - would be expected to have an airtight defence much like his fellow World Cup winning counterpart Roberto Carlos’ Delhi Dynamos FC who have conceded just seven goals in their eight Hero Indian Super League 2015 matches so far. The Super Machans’ defence, however, has seen their net bulge on 10 occasions in eight outings which, if anything, is an anomaly for a team coached by an Italian who was known for his stubborn resistance in his playing days. Add to that the fact that Chennai’s centre-half pairing this season has mostly involved solid defenders like Alessandro Potenza, Mailson Alves and Bernard Mendy and the plot thickens.Upon further inquest though it is clear that Chennai more often than not haven’t helped themselves this season. After 33 matches in Hero ISL 2015, the penalty count stands at 14 and Chennaiyin FC have conceded seven of these 14 penalties, besides having two of their own. That takes the count to nine involving Chennai. Let’s take a look at how these seven penalties have affected their season thus far here.3rd October: In the inaugural game of Hero ISL 2015, Chennai conceded a penalty against Atlético de Kolkata which was saved by Apoula Edel. Interestingly, Elano scored a penalty of their own in this game but it was of little consequence as they came up short, losing the game by three goals to two.8th October: Second game of their season and the second penalty conceded by Chennai. This time the spot-kick converted by Chicao did have a bearing on the result of the match as it was the only goal of the game in hosts Delhi Dynamos FC’s first win. (Watch here)20th October: Chennaiyin FC thought they had got out of jail against NorthEast United FC when Apoula Edel for the second time in the season came to their rescue while facing a spot-kick. This was not to be the case however, as they went on to concede a penalty again in the last minute of normal time. The Highlanders’ marquee player Simao took responsibility this time and broke the deadlock to seal Chennai’s fate. (Watch here)31st October: Chennai almost gave all three points away to a Kerala Blasters FC side that was languishing near the bottom of the table. However, an inspiring save by Karanjit Singh from a Josu penalty was enough to earn his side a point.5th November: Chennai’s propensity to give away penalties remained unaltered as they conceded two penalties against FC Goa at home and lost the game 2-0 after Leo Moura and Jonatan Lucca converted those penalties successfully.Chennai currently sit just outside the top 4 with 10 points from eight matches. Chennai’s penalty plight is highlighted by the fact that all games which they have won – three of them so far - have been the ones where they have not conceded a penalty. That’s definitely food for thought for Materazzi.
