Chennaiyin FC edge past Delhi FC in a hard-fought tie in Durand Cup group stage

Chennaiyin FC topped Group E unscathed after playing out a hard-fought 1-2 victory against Delhi FC in the Durand Cup 2023 at the Indira Gandhi Athletic Stadium, Guwahati on Friday, August 18. The ISL club added a goal each at either end of the half-time break while Delhi could only respond with a single strike.

Owen Coyle made seven changes to his starting lineup and the Marina Machans looked slightly out of sorts in the initial exchanges. It was a frantic start to the game from the Delhi-based outfit constantly capitalizing on the opposition's indecisiveness in passing.

Chances were in plenty for every Delhi FC attacker, including the likes of Himanshu Jangra, Fahad Temuri, and Pape Gassama. However, the I-League outfit lacked the cutting edge in the final third.

But completely against the run of play in the 38th minute, Akash Sangwan lobbed a cross into the box and Rafael Crivellaro latched on it before dribbling past a couple of opposition defenders. Once the Brazilian realized a shooting angle, he calmly tucked the ball past a helpless Nitish Mehra between the posts. Chennaiyin were 0-1 ahead thanks to the silky smooth skill from the creative maestro, and inadvertently the pressure now was on Delhi to respond.

Despite having 13 attempts at the opposition's goal, the home side could only keep one of their efforts on target. Meanwhile, CFC managed to break the deadlock with a much more miserly return.

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Chennaiyin FC resilient while facing attacking barrage from Delhi FC

With the lead under their belts, Chennaiyin FC looked like a much more cognitive unit in the second half. Owen Coyle opted for three quick substitutions, including Vincy Barretto who replaced Sweden Fernandes. The explosive winger made an immediate mark on the tie, scoring CFC's second in the 50th minute. Sachu Siby found Vincy with a pin-point pass and he converted it with great panache.

From there on what followed was a constant barrage from the Delhi FC frontline and an incredible resistance from shot-stopper Samik Mitra. The 22-year-old kept parrying away every effort thrown his way, until the 53rd minute, when an outrageous free-kick effort from Gassama bamboozled the entirety of the defense, kissed the inside of the crossbar and went into the CFC net. Delhi FC had halved the lead but there was still a lot more to achieve.

With the intention and resilience that Chennai displayed, there was no case to be made for an equalizer throughout the 90 minutes, despite multiple distractions on and off the field. The referee added well over 10 minutes of additional time but ultimately the scoreline remained unaltered and the Marina Machans paraded into the quarter-finals with three wins from three matches. Meanwhile, the defeat means Delhi FC are knocked out of the Durand Cup.