Chennaiyin FC defeated East Bengal FC 3-0 to break their seven game winless streak at the Indian Super League (ISL) in Kolkata on Saturday.
The Marina Machans, thus, moved to the 10th spot with 21 points, trailing the sixth-placed Bengaluru FC (28) by seven points and keeping their play-off hopes alive.
Vishnu Puthiya got East Bengal FC to a cracker of a start by testing his luck from distance as early as in the second minute of the match.
While Dimitrios Diamantakos served him a pass to engage in further build-up, Vishnu backed his instinct and went straight for the middle of the goal, which was saved by Mohammed Nawaz.
Despite the early forays by the home side, Chennaiyin FC discovered the maiden breakthrough due to an error by Nishu Kumar in the 13th minute. Charging down the middle with the ball, Wilmar Jordan Gil unlocked the East Bengal FC defence with a slick through ball for Connor Shields.
However, Shields did not control the ball well and instead, a perplexing situation emerged inside the 18-yard area where none of the East Bengal FC players made a definitive clearance.
The ball rolled into the back of the net taking the last touch from Nishu as even goalkeeper Prabhsukhan Singh Gill had moved out of his line to prevent the danger, albeit unsuccessfully.
The visitors doubled the lead in the 21st minute when Irfan Yadwad mustered a cross for Wilmar, who was placed in extremely close range. The striker pounced upon the chance, drilling the ball into the bottom left corner.
Saul Crespo took it upon himself to cut the deficit with a rather ambitious effort from outside the box in the 43rd minute, but the ball sailed over the top right corner.
Vignesh Dakshinamurthy immediately returned the favour at the other end, swinging in a cross for Lalrinliana Hnamte, which the latter met adeptly but was blocked in time to thwart a third goal from going in.
Hnamte continued assisting upfront, laying up a delivery for Lukas Brambilla at the edge of the box in the 54th minute. Brambilla had enough time to launch a strong effort but his effort didn't trouble the target, meandering down the left side of the post.
With the back and forth sequence of exchanges furthering, Vishnu tried turning the provider from the flank with a lateral ball for Diamantakos, which the striker headed way off the right side of the post in the 69th minute.
Naorem Mahesh Singh joined hands with Richard Celis to cause problems for the Chennaiyin FC backline five minutes later, but Nawaz stood strong to save at the top centre of the goal and work towards leading his team towards an important clean sheet.
Daniel Chima Chukwu eventually found Chennaiyin FC's third goal of the night late in the dying minutes of the game.
As the Marina Machans embarked on a fast break after resisting a wave of offensive pressure, Kiyan Nassiri made a smart movement to make a headed pass in Chukwu's path, which the striker comfortably slotted into the bottom right corner to seal the win for the visitors.
Hyderabad FC prevail 3-1 over Mohammedan Sporting
A dominant Hyderabad FC defeated Mohammedan Sporting Club 3-1 in a match between two bottom-placed teams of the Indian Super League (ISL) in Hyderabad on Saturday.
Allan Paulista (24th minute), Ramhlunchhunga (45+1) and Joseph Sunny (90+6) scored for Hyderabad FC while Makhan Chothe (78th) pulled one back for Mohammedan Sporting.
This was Hyderabad's fourth win in 19 matches as they accumulated 16 points to be placed at 12th in the league standings, just one above bottom-placed Mohammedan Sporting (11 points from 19 matches).
Mohammedan Sporting had Alexis Gomez marshalling the offensive charge for them by surging down the right side of the Hyderabad FC 18-yard box with sheer pace and fine control over the ball in the opening couple of exchanges of the game.
Hyderabad FC coupled this defensive diligence with a blend of creativity, which produced their opening strike of the match.
In the 24th minute, Muhammed Rafi caught the Mohammedan Sporting backline by surprise with a long through ball that sailed over them and met Paulista inside the box. Paulista brought the ball down with his chest, before nestling it into the centre of the net in an instant to cap off the offensive move convincingly.
Gomez continued to be Mohammedan Sporting's key man in the frontline as Zodinglina Ralte picked him in the middle of the 18-yard area in the 38th minute with a pass intended for him to take a quick touch at and then to be shot at goal.
Gomez's final effort, though on target, failed to trouble Arshdeep Singh as the custodian held his lines perfectly.
On the other end, Ramhlunchhunga earned an opportunity to double the lead by winning a free-kick from the edge of the box on the left side in the added time of the first half.
Stepping up to take the kick, Ramhlunchhunga pulled off a peach of a delivery, with the ball carrying just the adequate pace and precision required to hit the top left corner of the net and get Hyderabad FC a two-goal cushion heading into the half-time break.
Gomez turned creator for Makhan Chothe's 78th minute strike. As Mohammedan Sporting strived to create pressure from a corner kick, Gomez got on the ball and hurled in a quick cross for Chothe on the left side of the six yard box.
Chothe showed calm in depositing it into the bottom right corner to spark hopes of a possible resurgence, but that was not to be.
Paulista, instead, rounded off a terrific outing for the home side by bagging an assist in the added time of the second half.
Hyderabad FC will play their next game against Odisha FC on February 14, whereas Mohammedan Sporting are set to feature against East Bengal FC on February 16.
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