Jamshedpur strengthens semi-final chances with a 4-1 win against Chennaiyin
Jamshedpur got one foot in the semi-final with a 4-1 rout against Chennaiyin in ‘Match 96’ of the 2021-22 Indian Super League season. Strikes from Ritwik Das, Daniel Chima Chukwu, Boris Singh Thangjam, and a Deepak Devrani own goal comprised the four goals scored by the Red Miners, whilst for the Marina Machans, Nerijus Valskis scored the lone consolation goal.
Chennaiyin interim head coach Syed Subir Pasha made only one tweak to the team that drew 2-2 against Odisha. Reagan Singh returned at the right-back position at the expense of Edwin Sydney Vanspaul. On the other head, Jamshedpur head coach Owen Coyle fielded the same starting XI that won 3-2 against Bengaluru.
The Red Miners had a bright start to the team but could not make in-roads through the Chennaiyin backline in the first 20 minutes. Chukwu tried his luck in the 22nd minute but his effort took a deflection before going out for a corner.
It turned out to be a match-defining moment as the deadlock was eventually broken from that corner. Stewart’s curling delivery found the head of Peter Hartley, and though the veteran defender’s effort was blocked by Rahim Ali, the rebound fell to Ritwik who made no mistake in slotting it past Debjit Majumder in the Chennaiyin goal.
Six minutes later, Mobashir Rahman played a delightful ball from the right flank to find Chukwu one-on-one with Debjit but the Nigerian’s shot was directed straight at the keeper. However, Coyle’s men did not have to rue Chukwu’s miss once again, for they netted their second goal only four minutes later. Greg Stewart made a darting run down the left flank before cutting a pass back for Boris who did well to strike his shot cleanly, giving Debjit no opportunity to get his hands to it.
The Red Miners tripled their lead in the 40th minute of the match, and this time around, Chukwu did get his name on the scoresheet. Eli Sabia headed a long ball from Debjit straight into the path of the former Molde striker, and though he was being marked by Deepak Devrani, Chukwu managed to find the bottom corner.
Coyle’s team started the second half from exactly where they left the first, as it took them less than a minute to score their fourth goal of the match. Known for having a flair for the spectacular, Stewart went for glory from a long way out and it took a big deflection off Devrani to roll into the back of the net, leaving Debjit flat-footed. Ritwik also tried a long-range effort at the hour-mark, but he lacked the precision to pull off something similar, unlike his Scottish teammate.
Nerijus Valskis’s goal was nothing more than a consolation for Chennaiyin
The game seemingly turned into a contest of long-rangers as barely two minutes after Ritwik’s effort, Chennaiyin’s Ariel Borysiuk pulled the trigger from quite a distance away. While his effort was saved by the Jamshedpur custodian TP Rehenesh, Valskis was at the right place at the right time to tuck home the rebound. Pasha’s men tried throwing the kitchen sink at the Red Miners in the dying minutes as Mirlan Murzaev, Anirudh Thapa and Germanpreet Singh all tried their lucks from distance, but the scoreline remained at 4-1
With this win, Jamshedpur has climbed to the second position in the standings and will now take on NorthEast United on Friday, while eighth-placed Chennaiyin will be up against Kerala Blasters on Saturday.