The two debutants in Chennai City FC and Minerva Punjab played out a 0-0 draw in their opening game of the 2017 I-League at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in Chennai. The stalemate between the two sides was not for want of chances though as both sides had opportunities to swing the game their way. In the end though, the deadlock wasn't broken and the two sides making their bow on a national level for the first time had to settle for a point each.
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The home side, Chennai City, turned out in a 4-2-3-1 formation with local lads and India seniors Denson Devadas and Dhanpal Ganesh playing a two-man defensive midfield role. Former Afghan captain Haroon Amiri and Brazilian Charles De Souza led the attack for Chennai.
Manandeep Singh led the line as forward for the visitors Minerva along with Nigerian Joel Sunday.
The first big chance of the game came the home team's way when Lalnun Mawia found himself in space to meet a cross from Abhishek Das in the 10th minute, but the effort was straight at the Minerva keeper.
After an energetic opening 15 minutes where Minerva pressed the home side a lot, Chennai City were able to establish possession with Denson and Dhanpal instrumental. The duo served as a calming influence on the side and helped the home team settle.
Manandeep meanwhile had a shot at goal in the 14th minute which fizzed just wide of Karanjit’s right post. Meanwhile the combination of Amiri and Abhishek Das down Chennai City's right flank to open up opportunities. One such opportunity saw Das find Amiri in space with a good through ball on 27 minutes, but the Afghan failed to control it effectively.
The best chance for Minerva in the first half came soon after that when the Nigerian Sunday managed to get free down the left and his cutback to an onrushing Manandeep saw the Minerva skipper unleash a powerful shot that Karanjit did well to beat away.
As the action picked up, Chennai City came roaring back with a good chance of their own, Amiri once again involved. His cross from the right found Lalnun Mawia who had made his way into the box, but opposition keeper Ravi Kumar was alert to the danger and managed to smother Mawia’s shot from close range.
Minerva tested Karanjit once more before the break when Victor Amobi saw a dipping shot tipped over by the experienced keeper.
The visitors made two changes at halftime - Uttam Rai on for Nuruddin and Ravindra Kumar replacing Gurjinder Kumar in defence.
Chennai City started the brighter in the second half and within three minutes a scramble inside the penalty box saw Dhanpal get a chance to poke the ball in from close range, but Ravi Kumar and the post kept him out.
The 59th minute saw Chennai City fashion a very good chance. Skipper Dharmaraj Ravanan pushed up to help in attack, releasing Debabrata Roy down the left. Roy put a good cross in to find Amiri, whose left-footed shot was blocked by the keeper.
As Chennai City began to get a grip on the game, whatever little Minerva fashioned came through Amobi who managed to create openings with his pace down the right.
As the game reached its final 15 minutes though, it became more likely that if any team were to score, it was the home side. Zakeer Mundampara and Marcos 'Tank’ Vinicius were brought on by Chennai City coach Robin Charles Raja as they strived for the win. Vinicius, in particular, looked a threat down the left, his burly physique and pace proving a handful for the Minerva defence.
However, despite fashioning some more good openings, they could not get the crucial breakthrough - Amiri wasted one in the 79th when he had a good 2-on-2 break with a bad touch and Vinicius in the 88th minute chose to go himself with a low shot that was an easy save for the keeper instead of cutting it back for an easier finish.
Karanjit Singh, who was also incidentally celebrating his birthday, was presented the Man of the Match honour for his solid showing between the sticks.
