ISL: Punjab FC concedes late goal; falls before Chennaiyin FC

Chennai: Punjab FC went down 1-2 to Chennaiyin FC after conceding a late goal in an Indian Super League encounter, which was played here at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium.

Luka Majcen equalised at the start of the second half after Punjab FC conceded through a penalty in the first half, which was scored by their former striker Wilmar Jordan Gil. Daniel Chima Chukwu broke Punjab hearts in the 84th minute, scoring the winner. Punjab remains in ninth position in the table with 24 points from 20 matches, while Chennaiyin is one place below with the same points from 21 matches.

Punjab FC created the first chance of the game with Filip Mrzljak forcing a save out of Mohammad Nawaz after he was set up by Petros Giakoumakis. The Shers conceded the first goal after controlling the game for the first phase. Melroy conceded a penalty as the ball struck the defender’s hand inside the box while trying to shield Wilmar Jordan. The Colombian striker made no mistake in converting the penalty.

Mrzljak had a couple of chances to find the equaliser, but the midfielder could not find the target before he was replaced after getting injured. The last minutes of the half were end to end, with chances created at both ends. Substitute Muhammad Suhail put in a couple of dangerous crosses from the left wing, which could not find the intended target, while at the other end, Ravi Kumar made two wonderful one-on-one saves, both from Irfan Yadwad, to keep the home side’s lead to a single goal.

The Shers took the lead three minutes into the second half, and Luka finished off a wonderful team move. Asmir Suljic found Pulga Vidal at the end of the box, and the Argentinian found Luka with a pinpoint pass inside the box, which the Slovenian buried past the goalkeeper. Luka could not capitalise on three more chances to score within five minutes, all three being set up by the energetic Suhail as the forward could not put the finishing touches after finding himself in promising positions inside the box.

Punjab kept on creating pressure on the home side, but the final output was missing, and the team was unable to convert the chances. The Shers were punished for those misses as Chennaiyin took the lead six minutes from now. Substitutes Lukas Brambilla and Daniel Chima Chukwu combined as the former found Chukwu completely free inside the six-yard box, which the striker poked inside the net.

Punjab pushed hard for the equaliser in the final minutes and the injury time but was thwarted twice by the goalkeeper saving efforts from Luka Majcen and Pulga Vidal, and there was also a goal-line clearance from the Chennaiyin defence from a right-footed effort by Vidal. In the end, Chennaiyin somehow held on to the slender lead to earn three crucial points.