That ends our coverage for this exciting game. We will love to have your company on Friday as Hyderabad FC hosts Bengaluru FC. That game starts at 1930 IST. Till then, take care!
Awards
The Club Award is shared by both teams as the match ended in a draw. Aridane Santana collects the award for the Limitless Player of the Match. Martin Guedes takes home the Winning Pass of the Match Award while Shubham Sarangi is the Emerging Player of the Match. Nerijus Valskis bags the Hero of the Match Award.
Points shared but a superb game
Wow! What an unbelievable second half. The first half saw no goals but both the sides came all gun blazing in the final one. Nerijus Valskis opened the floodgates and found the back of the net in the 51st minute. However, the home side's lead could not last long as Xisco Hernandez levelled things just 4 minutes later. Both the sides then attacked each other's end and eventually, Valskis once again put the ball inside the net to take the lead. Their lead once again did not last long as Aridane Santana drilled one into the net to level things up. Both the sides will eventually share points which can be termed as the perfect result as none of them deserved to lose after the kind of game they played.
90'
Full time
There goes the final whistle and it ends all level.
90'
Last chance?
Corner for the hosts. Can they smash one in to find an equalizer? Nothing comes off the corner.
90'
Just wide
Dragos Firtulescu takes the free kick from the left. He smashes it inside the box. Nerijus Valskis looks to head it in but it goes just wide.
90'
Added time
Three minutes have been added in the final half. Can either of the side find the winner?
88'
Ambitious
Shubham Sarangi looks to fire the ball in from outside the box but his attempt goes well over.
82'
GOALLLLL!!!!
Aridane Santana has stunned the home crowd now. What a fantastic strike from him. Daniel Lalhlimpuia has the ball on the left. He looks to pass the ball in the box. Xisco Hernandez heads the ball inside the box which falls to Martin Guedes. Guedes drops the ball to Aridane Santana with a touch. Aridane Santana slams it in and the away side finds the equalizer. Can they manage one more before the final whistle to bag all the three points?
82'
Goal
Goal - Odisha FC : ARIDANE AA
80'
10 minutes and added time left
Now, 10 more minutes and the added time left. Can Chennaiyin FC hold on to their lead or the visitors can sneak one through to level things up?
79'
Change for the hosts
In the attempt to keep their lead, the hosts make a change now as Rafael Crivellaro goes off and Rahim Ali comes on for him.
79'
Substitution
Substitution - Chennaiyin FC (In: RAHIM, Out: CRIVELLARO)
74'
Substitution
The visitors now bringing fresh legs after losing their lead as Daniel Lalhlimpuia comes on to replace Marcos Tebar.
74'
Substitution
Substitution - Odisha FC (In: DANIEL, Out: M.TEBAR)
71'
GOALLLLL!!!
The hosts take the lead now! Brilliant header from Nerijus Valskis to find the back of the net. His second goal of the evening and the crowd has gone wild once again. Dragos Firtulescu takes the corner from the left and crosses it just in front of the goal. The ball finds Nerijus Valskis who heads in the net. They now need to keep their lead till the final whistle.
71'
Goal
Goal - Chennaiyin FC : VALSKIS
68'
Substitution
Odisha FC makes another substitution as Carlos Delgado goes off and he has been replaced by Martin Guedes.
66'
Yellow card
Carlos Delgado is booked for a nasty tackle on Dragos Firtulescu in an attempt to win the ball. The referee books him for the attempt.
68'
Substitution
Substitution - Odisha FC (In: PEREZ GUEDES, Out: C.DELGADO)
65'
On target!
Rafael Crivellaro passes the ball to Germanpreet Singh on his right. Singh takes a couple of touches and then tries to hammer the ball in. It is on target but goes straight to the keeper who pouches it comfortably.
66'
Yellow Card
Yellow Card - Odisha FC : C.DELGADO
61'
Superb defending
Rafael Crivellaro makes a cross from the left but Aridane Santana heads it away. However, the ball goes high and the keeper comes to the rescue for his side as he smashes it away.
62'
Substitution
Substitution - Chennaiyin FC (In: Firtulescu, Out: THOI)
54'
GOAL!!!!!!
The visitors level things up and they have taken less than 4 minutes to do so. Nandhakumar Sekar has the ball on the left flank. He finds Jerry Mawihmingthanga with a superb cross. Jerry Mawihmingthanga looks to fire the ball in but the keeper manages to keep it out. However, the ball falls to Xisco Hernandez who hammers the ball in. Now, the home crowd has gone silent. It's all level now.
54'
Goal
Goal - Odisha FC : XISCO H.
51'
GOAL!!!!!!
The hosts have struck the first blow and the home crowd has gone wild. A poor pass from the visitors' player gives an opportunity to the home side. Rafael Crivellaro gets the ball and passes it towards Anirudh Thapa to his right. Thapa pushes it towards Thoi Singh. Singh passes to ball towards his left and Nerijus Valskis tucks it in the left corner and the home side takes the lead.
51'
Goal
Goal - Chennaiyin FC : VALSKIS
49'
Nicely blocked
Thoi Singh makes an excellent cross from the right. The chip finds Lallianzuala Chhangte but Shubham Sarangi blocks it out.
49'
Yellow card
Germanpreet Singh is the shown the card for a rash tackle on an Odisha FC player.
49'
Yellow Card
Yellow Card - Chennaiyin FC : GERMAN.K
46'
Substitution
Substitution - Chennaiyin FC (In: GERMAN.K, Out: SAIGHANI)
46'
Substitution
Substitution - Odisha FC (In: BIKRAMJIT, Out: VINIT)
46'
Final 45
Time for the final half of the game. Chennaiyin FC will get us underway for this one. A couple of substition at the start of this half, one each for both the sides. Germanpreet Singh comes on for Masih Saighani for the hosts while Bikramjit Singh replaces Vinit Rai for the visitors.
Goalless half!
The visitors started attacking from the start but could not find the final touch to score. They had an excellent chance but Vishal Kaith stood in between during the 8th minute of the game. Chennaiyin FC have not managed to keep the ball in possession which meant that they could not attack the opposition half much. Odisha FC almost scored one during the injury time but Jerry Mawihmingthanga could not put the ball in the back of the net and we eventually go to break with the scoreline reading 0-0. Interesting to see what strategy both the sides return for the second half.
45'
Half time
There goes the whistle to mark the end of the first half.
45'
Almost a goal for the hosts
Jerry Mawihmingthanga with a chance as he is one-on-one with Vishal Kaith. However, Kaith did well there to narrow down the angle. Aridane Santana gives an excellent delivery towards Jerry. Jerry attempts to find the target with his left foot but it goes just wide.
45'
Added time
The referee has added one minute in this half.
42'
Up and over again
Excellent play from the hosts. Thoi Singh has the ball on the right flank. He goes past a defender and looks to find a teammate but Diawandou Diagne heads it away. The ball falls to Edwin Vanspaul who looks to smash the ball inside the net but his attempt it way over and wide too.
38'
Set piece at the edge of the box on the left
Chance for the hosts as they have a free kick just at the edge of the box. Thoi Singh's attempt to make a cross catches the hand of Vinit Rai and the umpire gives a free kick. Not a good free kick from Anirudh Thapa as it fails to go past the wall.
36'
Just over
Nandhakumar Sekar tries crossing the ball to a player to his right but his attempt has been blocked by Eli Sabia. However, the ball falls to Xisco Hernandez inside the box. He has clear space in front of him. He tries to fire the ball inside the net but it goes well over.
32'
Good build up from the hosts finally
Thoi Singh and Edwin Vanspaul play one-two on the right, just outside the box. Thoi Singh then looks to find Nerijus Valskis but his shot is too heavy as it goes straight to Arshdeep Singh.
27'
Dominating start this from the visitors
With nearly 80% of possessionl, Odisha FC have been more dominant. The hosts need to keep the ball more with them or we might soon get to see the visitors strike first.
22'
Yellow card
Vinit Rai gets the first booking of the night as he takes down Masih Saighani in the middle of the ground. A late call this one from the referee.
21'
Yellow Card
Yellow Card - Odisha FC : VINIT
18'
Nice cross but not the final touch
Xisco Hernandez makes a superb cross from right flank off a set-piece and inside the box towards the far box. Diawandou Diagne leaps high in the air and looks to head it inside the net but it goes just wide of the goal.
14'
Good defending
Xisco Hernandez has the ball on the right flank outside the box. He makes a pass towards Nandhakumar Sekar. Sekar enters the penalty area and tries to put Edwin Vanspaul off by a dribble and then fires the shot but Edwin Vanspaul keeps it out eventually.
8'
Brilliant goalkeepinng
It could've been 1-0 to the visitors but Vishal Kaith has done superbly here to keep the ball away. Aridane Santana has the ball on the right. He makes an excellent run and then gives the ball to Xisco Hernandez. Hernandez takes a touch and then looks to put the ball in the back of the net but he can't go past Vishal Kaith. The ball goes towards the right flank in the box and Xisco looks to reach out but Tondonba from the opposition pushes the ball out with a sliding tackle.
7'
Up and over!
Xisco Hernandez makes the first attempt of the game. He gets the ball from Nandhakumar Sekar and then fires the shot in the direction of the goal but sends it up and over the bar.
5'
Easy going start
Not much doing so far. Both the sides are yet to make an attacking entry in each other's box as the defenders from either side is making sure the ball doesn't reach there.
1'
Kick off!
Odisha FC get us underway by passing the ball behind. They are attacking from right to left.
Toss
Odisha FC have won the toss and they will kick off to start the first half.
National Anthem
The players from both the sides walk out on the ground for the Indian National Anthem.
Vishal Kaith (GK), Tondonba Singh, Masih Saighani, Lucian Goian (C), Eli Sabia, Lallianzuala Chhangte, Edwin Vanspaul, Thoi Singh, Anirudh Thapa, Rafael Crivellaro, Nerijus Valskis.
Match day!
Game 27 sees Chennaiyin FC take on Odisha FC. The hosts will be looking for another three points, especially after their climatic win in the last game. Also, they are just above the team at the bottom so they would be looking to string a series of wins. Playing at home, they will be confident heading into the fixture and would want the home team to be right behind them. Their goal-draught ended in the last game and they would hope that was just the start of something good. Another excellent performance from their attackers is what they will be hoping for. Their backline also looked solid and another tough performance is what they would like. A win here will see them go above the 6th place Odisha FC who are on a three-game unbeaten streak. After losing their first two games, they are now starting to get into their own. Their defense seems solid as they have kept two clean sheets in a row. They're lacking though in the final third of the game and that is where they need to make it count if they are to win more games. A good game awaits.