ISL 2023-24: Jamshedpur comeback to hold Chennaiyin FC for a draw

Jamshedpur FC held Chennaiyin FC to a 2-2 draw at the JRD Tata Sports Complex in the Indian Super League (ISL) 2023-24 tonight after going down by a couple of goals in the first half.

The Marina Machans made a mark early on, with the quality of their domestic offensive unit reflected by strikes from Farukh Choudhary and Ninthoinganba Meetei.

Farukh met a cross by Rafael Crivellaro and headed it into the top right corner to open the scoring in the ninth minute of the match.

The former Mumbai City FC winger returned the favour soon afterwards, spotting Crivellaro with space in front of him and playing a pass outside of the box in the 28th minute. Debjit Majumder held his ground to save the Brazilian’s shot at the centre of the goal though.

The visitors continued to sustain periods of dominance upfront. Their quick-footed forwards earned multiple fouls from promising positions, and one of them led to Ninthoinganba doubling their lead with his second goal of the campaign.

In the 40th minute, Jordan Murray saw Ninthoinganba in a potential goal-scoring spot on the right side of the box, and he delivered him a short pass that the 22-year-old immediately shot past TP Rehenesh.

Jamshedpur FC took a moment, gathered back their momentum, and cut the lead of Chennaiyin FC through Pachuau Laldinpuia nodding the ball home in the fourth minute of the added time of the first half.

It was a culmination of a passage of play where the home team had pegged Chennaiyin FC back on the field. A moment prior to this goal, Laldinpuia had shown timely awareness to set up Muhammed Uvais’ strike. The latter faltered, but the former made up for it with a header from a very close range.

That goal perhaps shifted the momentum in the favour of Scott Cooper and his men. Steve Ambri and Imran Khan ran circles around the Chennaiyin FC backline in the opening 15 minutes of the second half. However, Cooper perhaps felt the need for an imposing presence upfront, and hence brought in Daniel Chima Chukwu in place of Ambri in the 61st minute.

That move paid off, with Chima acting as the target man in the Chennaiyin FC box, allowing Jamshedpur FC to go more direct in their approach. After a few close attempts, he headed in a cross by Nikhil Barla in the 90th minute, as Owen Coyle’s quest to beat his former team on their home turf was vanquished with both sides settling for a point each.