Hosts Jamshedpur inflicted a 3-1 loss on defending champions Chennaiyin in a Hero Indian Super League encounter here on Sunday.
Pablo Morgado fired Jamshedpur into the lead (14th minute) before Carlos Calvo doubled their advantage (29th). Raphael Augusto pulled one back in the second half (68th) before Mario Arques (72nd) restored the two-goal lead and ensured all three points for the home side.
Cesar Ferrando’s men have now climbed to third spot on the points table while Chennaiyin remain ninth. It was Jamshedpur who saw more of the ball in the initial stages at the JRD Tata Sports Complex.
They were rewarded in the 14th minute with a delightful strike by Morgado. A free-kick by Carlos Calvo was headed by Mailson Alves and the ball reached to Morgado, who whacked the ball into the back of the net from 30 yards, giving Karanjit Singh no chance whatsoever.
They had another chance when Arques headed over from a corner as he was allowed a free header inside the box. Jamshedpur earned a penalty in the 28th minute when Sumeet Passi was brought down inside the box by Jerry Lalrinzuala.
This was after Michael Soosairaj’s right footed shot was punched by Karanjit only for Passi to be fouled. Calvo successfully converted from the spot to make it 2-0 for the home team.
The visitors never really tested Subrata Paul in goal as Jamshedpur totally dominated the proceedings. In the second half, John Gregory made a change, bringing in Nondomba Singh for Jerry. The first opportunity of the second period came to Passi as he broke the offside trap and got into a one-on-one situation but his effort was just about kept out by Karanjit.
Although Chennaiyin improved their ball retention in the second half, they struggled to carve open the Jamshedpur defence. Gregory eventually threw caution to the winds and introduced Carlos Salom to replace Inigo Calderon.
Just after the hour mark, Nelson was brought down inside the box by a combination of Bikash Jairu and Raju Gaikwad and the referee pointed at the spot. Raphael Augusto sent Paul the wrong way to pull one back.
Tim Cahill should have added his name on the scoresheet in the 70th minute when his shot was blocked by Eli Sabia for a corner. From the ensuing flag-kick, Arques’ header saw Karanjit fumble and allow the ball to sneak into his own net.
Though Thoi Singh had a late chance to pull a goal back, Paul was up to the task as the hosts coasted to their third win of the season.
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