In an enthralling encounter, Odisha FC (OFC) registered an incredible 3-2 victory over Chennaiyin FC (CFC) in an Indian Super League (ISL) encounter at the Kalinga Stadium on Thursday, November 24.
Despite a fighting brace from Chennaiyin's Abdenasser El Khayati, the Juggernauts came away with a late winner through Nandhakumar Sekar.
In the 31st minute, Raynier Fernandes' header was deflected by CFC defender Vafa Hakhamaneshi into his own net. Josep Gombau's side went into half-time with the lead and doubled it through a Diego Mauricio penalty right after the break.
El Khayati then scored twice (60th and 94th minute) to equalize for Chennai. But right at the death, Nandhakumar sealed the tie in the 97th minute.
ODISHA FC
Amrinder Singh (GK) [6.0]
Amrinder made two saves but conceded a late penalty that could've cost Odisha the full points.
Narender Gahlot [7.0]
The makeshift right-back was defensively solid throughout the night and did well to keep Jockson Dhas in check. Narender made six clearances and five interceptions.
Carlos Delgado [6.0]
Not the best performance from the veteran defender as he misplaced his passes and failed to make any significant defensive contributions.
Sahil Panwar [6.5]
Although his passing accuracy was quite poor, Sahil Panwar created some ambitious moves and made a significant impact defensively. He didn't let Prasanth dominate his flank.
Osama Malik [6.5]
Not necessarily outstanding, but Osama Malik was efficient with his defensive contributions. He made four clearances, an interception, and a tackle.
Thoiba Singh [6.5]
The Indian midfielder had a decent outing but he could've fared better in the passing department.
Raynier Fernandes [7.0]
He was one of Odisha FC's most lethal midfielders as he darted into the opposition box on multiple occasions. It was Raynier whose header was deflected into goal by Vafa for the Juggernauts' first goal. He played multiple key passes into dangerous areas.
Saul Crespo [7.0]
The Spaniard was a metronome in the middle of the park as he completed 81 percent of the passes. However, he missed a glorious opportunity. Crespo also made eight tackles, one interception, and a clearance. But he ended up conceding the penalty too.
Pedro Martin [6.5]
During his time on the pitch, the Spaniard hit the woodwork once but was surprisingly taken off at half-time to accommodate Diego Mauricio.
Jerry Mawihmingthanga [7.0]
Jerry was industrious as always and contributed creatively too. The young winger played three key passes and also had one shot on target.
Nandhakumar Sekar [7.5]
The right-winger scored the winner in the 97th minute of the game and even before that he had a continuous impact on the game with his darting runs. Nandhakumar showed great composure during his goal as well.
Substitutes
Diego Mauricio [6.5]
Although he scored a penalty right after coming on, a lot more was left to be desired from Diego Mauricio's performance.
Isaac Chhakchhuak [6.0]
Isaac made a positive impact since coming on, as he passed the ball around a lot better. But he wasn't the strongest going into the duels.
Akshunna Tyagi [NA]
He came on too late to make any impact.
CHENNAIYIN FC
Debjit Majumder (GK) [6.0]
The veteran keeper made four saves throughout but still ended up conceding three goals.
Aakash Sangwan [7.0]
It was another strong performance from the full-back, who replaced an injured Narayan Das a few games back. Aakash was defensively at the top of his game, making five clearances, four interceptions, and four blocks.
Fallou Diagne [6.0]
The Senegalese defender was very poor in possession as he misplaced a large chunk of his passes. He lost possession 26 times during the game and didn't have the best of outings.
Vafa Hakhamaneshi [6.0]
Quite like Diagne, Vafa Hakhamaneshi was defensively astute but lacked composure on the ball during the build-up phase.
Ajith Kumar [5.5]
The full-back was dribbled past on three occasions and misplaced most of his passes. Ajith seemed like a liability throughout the game.
Sourav Das [6.0]
Although he played for the full 90 minutes, Sourav Das failed to make any significant impact. He also lost possession on multiple occasions.
Jockson Dhas [6]
In the 34th minute, Jockson suffered a head injury when he collided with Raynier Fernandes. The midfielder had to be stretchered off the pitch but he did very little wrong during his brief stay.
Prasanth K [6.5]
The former Kerala Blasters winger was one of the liveliest players on the pitch as he made a couple of pivotal runs and could've also won a penalty.
Julius Duker [6.0]
Although he made his presence felt in the middle of the park, Duker didn't essentially make the desired impact in the opposition half.
Sajal Bag [5.0]
The youngster was one of the poorest performers for the Chennai side as he cheaply gave away possession on multiple occasions and failed to make any significant impact.
Petar Sliskovic [7.0]
The Croatian forward provided the assist for Chennaiyin FC's first goal and furthermore, his tremendous work rate was noticeable right from the start.
Substitutes
Edwin Vanspaul [6.0]
He replaced Jockson Dhas after the injury but couldn't make any significant impact going forward.
Abdenasser El Khayati [8.0]
The Dutch midfielder came on the back of a super-sub performance in the last game. He replaced Julius Duker at the break and immediately made an impact.
El Khayati scored in the 60th minute to pull a goal back for Chennaiyin FC. Deep in added time, his side won a late penalty and the 33-year-old calmly tucked it home.