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It was entry into unchartered territory for the crowd at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium here in Chennai, as they saw their team, Chennaiyin FC slip to their first home defeat of the season.
Goals from Romeo Fernandes, Andre Santos and Miroslav Slepicka sealed the game for Zico’s team before Jean Eudes Maurice managed to net a consolation goal for Chennai.
Chennai’s assistant manager Vivek Nagul though denied that the loss was due to complacency. He said, “Complacency might be a factor, but it was not the only factor. We are missing three or four key players due to injuries, and that always affects a side’s performance.”
In spite of the defeat, Nagul was happy with the quality of football that Chennai played. He said that although the loss was tough to take, Chennai would take the positives out of the game.
Nagul was particularly impressed with the intricate passing that adorned Chennai’s game, especially in the first half, but also acknowledged that even when you play football that is pleasing to the eye, it is the number of goals by which a team is measured.
On whether this loss would affect the morale in the side, Nagul exuded confidence that the senior players in Chennai’s roster would show the required character and hoped that the likes of Mikael Silvestre, Eric Djemba-Djemba and Bernard Mendy would shepherd the inexperienced players and ensure that the morale remains upbeat.
Bojan Djordjic was convinced that the scoreline did not reflect the balance of play. The Chennai captain said, “When we lost 3-0 to NorthEast, we knew we didn’t play well. But, this defeat is hard to take. We kept the ball well, passed it well, and at times, we were unlucky.”
But Djordjic was also magnanimous, giving credit where it was due. He said that Goa took their chances, and in the end that was what mattered. Djordjic also assured the Chennai fans that the side would bounce back hard from this defeat, and that they would show that in their last league game against Delhi Dynamos on Tuesday.
Djordjic however dismissed the notion that Chennai would have to win their last game, just to carry momentum into the knockouts. He said, “The knockouts are a completely different cup of tea. We’re already there. It’s not as if we have to beat Delhi to get there. So, we will go out in the game against Delhi and enjoy ourselves, and hopefully, we’ll give these fans plenty of reasons to enjoy.”
Djordjic seemed to be revelling in his celebrity status in Chennai. “Two months ago, if you’d told me I’d get such a reception in Chennai, I’d have called you crazy.”
Eric Djemba-Djemba was particularly animated at half-time. The Cameroonian kept the Chennai players on the pitch after the whistle had gone for the breather, and seemed to be dishing out some harsh words to the players.
When asked what was said during the half-time huddle, Djemba-Djemba replied, “I was telling the players to not let their heads drop despite being two goals down. I told them we were keeping the ball well, but that we were passing it too much sometimes. Sometimes it is important to get a shot on goal. I was just telling the players that we had to threaten the goalkeeper, just like Goa did, when they got their two goals in the first half.”
Chennai's utility player Harmanjot Khabra, who was deployed at left back in this game said he was happy to perform any role that was asked of him by the management. Khabra said he enjoys shouldering defensive responsibility. He further went on to assert that Chennai would bounce back from this defeat, saying this was a one-off.
When asked if Goa would be the team to avoid in the semis, Khabra didn’t agree. He said that it would be better if Chennai concentrated on their own game rather than thinking about the opposition.
FC Goa manager Zico was visibly overjoyed at his team’s performance, saying that beating Chennai away was a good achievement by his squad. Zico also stressed that he would like it if FC Goa recruited players from all around the football-mad state, and not just players who played for Dempo in the I-League.
Goa’s Afghan recruit, Haroon Amiri was delighted that Goa managed to qualify for the semifinals. Amiri said there was pressure on him since he was filling the void left by Robert Pires, but said he was enjoying the spotlight.
Amiri said that one individual alone cannot change the fortunes of a team. He stressed that Goa’s resurgence has been due to a collective effort by everyone from the manager to the players to the support staff.
