East Bengal 0-1 Chennaiyin FC: Marina Machans pick up hard-fought win in cagey encounter | ISL 2022-23

Chennaiyin FC picked up their second win of the 2022-23 ISL season by defeating East Bengal 1-0 at the Salt Lake Stadium on Friday (November 4).

In what was a largely cagey encounter, the Marina Machans struggled to break open a disciplined East Bengal defense for much of the first half. The visitors dominated possession, even completing more than 500 passes in a game for the first time this season, but couldn't break the hosts open.

The Red and Gold Brigade ensured that Petar Sliskovic didn't get any time on the ball, while Rahim Ali and Prasanth Karuthadathkuni were also marshaled well. Their tactics were evident: to hold a compact shape in midfield without pressing too high and hit Chennaiyin on the counter.

That ploy almost came off on two occasions. The first was when VP Suhair turned on the jets to escape Narayan Das and meet a ball from Cleiton Silva on the right. However, Suhair lashed his shot wide of Debjit Majumder's far-post.

This was followed by the Marina Machans getting their first shot on target. A well-worked move saw the impressive Ajith Kumar find Karuthadathkuni in the box. The forward unselfishly laid the ball off for Anirudh Thapa. He turned and fired a low shot that Kamaljit Singh palmed out for a corner.

Shortly after, East Bengal got their second big chance of the half. This time, it was Silva who was through on goal after a mistake by centre-back Vafa Hakhamaneshi. However, Silva also sent his strike from the right side of the box wide of the opposite post.

Those were the standout opportunities in an otherwise tight first half as the teams headed into the tunnel at 0-0.

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Vafa Hakhamaneshi's goal overshadowed by twin red cards as Chennaiyin FC beat East Bengal

Chennaiyin FC looked much better to start the second half as they added more urgency and pace to their forays forward. They progressed the ball well and forced East Bengal deeper into their own half, but simply didn't get enough shots that troubled Kamaljit Singh.

Set-pieces, which have been the Red and Gold Brigade's undoing this season, seemed like the visitors' best chance to take the lead. And that's exactly how they opened the scoring.

The Marina Machans' pressure led to one corner after the other, with the hosts on the ropes at times. They ultimately got their reward when youngster Aakash Sangwan, who had replaced Narayan Das in the first half, whipped in a delicious near-post delivery.

Hakhamaneshi, who had headed over just moments ago, stooped low and fought off Charalambos Kyriakou to thunder a header past Kamaljit in the 69th minute.

However, seconds after Chennaiyin took the lead, they found themselves in a hole. Hakhamaneshi lifted his shirt to reveal a message of support for the women facing human rights issues in his country while celebrating his goal. The referee deemed the celebration to be a second bookable offense and sent the Iranian off.

East Bengal, despite going behind, now had the chance to bounce back. However, a foolish error from Sarthak Golui, who was booked just five minutes into the game, saw their man advantage evaporate into thin air.

Golui's raised arm caught Thapa in the face in the 75th minute and the referee dismissed him almost immediately.

With both teams down to 10 men and 15 minutes plus stoppage time to play, Chennaiyin had the advantage again. The hosts, desperate for a goal, struggled to pick the right pass and ceded possession away too easily.

The Marina Machans, meanwhile, kept their shape and held onto the ball in wider areas to ultimately see out the game. It marked their second win of the campaign, with both victories coming at the Salt Lake Stadium.

Chennaiyin are now up to fifth in the ISL 2022-23 standings with seven points from four matches. They will host Mumbai City FC at the Marina Arena in their next match on November 12.

East Bengal, meanwhile, remain 10th with just three points from five matches. Constantine's side are yet to win at home this term and will visit Bengaluru FC for their next ISL game on November 11.