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Chennai City FC's unbeaten run in the I-League came to an end as the underdogs Real Kashmir FC pipped them with a late goal.
This win against Chennai City FC has drastically reduced the deficit in terms of points difference. With the Snow Leopards' win against the Chennai side, the race for the first position in the points table has been put wide open.
Chennai City FC brought in Pravitto Raju for the injured Charles Anandraj while Real Kashmir FC brought in Farhan Ganie, Muhammed Hammad and Danish Farooq for Mason Robertson, Khalid Qayoom and Nagen Tamang.
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In spite of dominating the possession by 78%, Chennai City FC couldn't make it count vastly due to the presence of Dharmaraj Ravanan and Loveday Enyinnaya.
In the 78th minute, a foul committed by Gaurav Bora led to a penalty which Kofi grabbed with both hands and got the much-needed breakthrough for Real Kashmir FC.
CCFC's coach also made a couple of changes in the dying minutes of the game to bolster Chennai's attack approach.
However, it was not to be and Chennai City FC suffered their first defeat of the season. Despite the unexpected result, the most important takeaway for Chennai City FC was the emergence of right winger N. Viji. He displayed great skills and provided excellent crosses in the little time he got.
On that note, we take a look at three reasons why Chennai City FC lost to Real Kashmir FC.
#3 Presence of Ravanan and Loveday
Chennai City FC failed to garner many chances in their attack as the likes of Dharmaraj Ravanan, Loveday Enyinnaya, Hammad and Thapa ensured a clean sheet and marked their targets without any flaw.
They also ensured in not giving the faintest of chances to Chennai City FC's Spanish forwards Pedro Manzi, Sandro Rodriguez, and Nestor Gordillo. Real Kashmir's defence was well supported by Bazie Armand and Farhan Ganie in the midfield. Also, Real Kashmir's physical game played a crucial role in their victory over Chennai City FC.
#2 Chennai City FC's defensive approach
The home side Chennai City FC rather adopted a very defensive approach and failed to attack on numerous occasions. They could have sealed their third home victory had they pounced from the early stages of the game.
The Spanish duo of Sandro Rodriguez Felipe and Nestor Gordillo Benitez got very little passes and they had no opportunity but to play the ball back towards defence.
#1 Poor refereeing decisions
The referees' decisions had a massive impact on the game. In fact, it has been proclaimed by many football pundits as the root cause for Chennai City FC's defeat against Real Kashmir FC.
There were several instances when the line umpires called it an off-side even before the ball bounced on the pitch. Also, the penalty which was awarded to Real Kashmir was simply a play-on.
The referees failed to notice many brutal interceptions and tackles.
