Kolkata: A late Henrique Sereno header was enough for Chennaiyin FC to register a victory in their first away match against Pune at the Sree Shiv Chhatrapati Sports Complex on Sunday. The tall Portugese defender who has been a regular threat in the air, rose above all in the 81st minute to score from a powerful header, earning the visitors their second win on the trot.
It was a scrappy start to the game, filled with mispasses, fouls and free-kicks before Rafa Lopez nearly gave Pune the lead. A Tebar free-kick in the 19th minute saw the ball put down for Alfaro, who passed it to Lopez. But with an empty goal infront, the Spaniard hit it inches wide of the goal.
Pune did have the ball inside the net in the 30th minute. But, Alfaro who had scored on the rebound was ruled offside, as the ‘Stallions’ endured a rather frustrating night full of missed chances.
As for Chennaiyin, they could have well taken the lead towards the end of the first half when Gregory Nelson’s diving header beat everyone, but Lopez came to the rescue making a goal-line clearance. Lopez was again the savior in the 67th minute, clearing a Francis’ shot on the goal-line after custodian Vishal keith made blunder of an easy save.
The game looked to be heading for a draw before the former ATK pair Jaime Gavilán and Sereno decided otherwise. The Spaniard Gavilán who came in as a substitute, delivered the corner that Sereno headed in, sealing the win that propelled Chennaiyin to the second position in the points table.
Pune meanwhile lost their second out of three matches at home so far, while also remaining winless against the former champions Chennaiyin FC ever since the league’s inception in 2014. The ‘Stallions’ next play ISL newbies Jamshedpur FC away from home and coach Popovic has a lot of work to do, if Pune are to make their maiden appearance in the play-offs this season.