Chennai: Chennaiyin FC have a foot in the semi-finals of the Indian Super League after sinking Mumbai City FC 3-0 here on Tuesday. Football was not on the mind of the city that had been reeling from monsoon deluge from the morning but a water-logged pitch couldn’t prevent the home team from raining goals for a crucial win.
Relentless rain delayed the start of the match by 15 minutes but a few thousand hardy fans of Chennaiyin didn’t have to wait long for a goal.
Zakeer Mundampara, who came in for the suspended holding midfielder Harmanjot Khabra, set up Colombian hotshot Stiven Mendoza with a sumptuous through ball in the ninth minute.
Mendoza, who can walk on water at the moment, rolled the ball under Mumbai goalkeeper Subrata Paul for his 11th goal of the season.
The pitch was more suitable for an aquatic sport and chasing a hopeless ball wasn’t a futile exercise at all as the spherical thing refused to roll on various pockets of water.
The organisers wouldn’t have gone ahead with the match had the tournament not reached its business end because there was no respite from the rain the whole evening.
Completing 90 minutes was an achievement in itself.
If the NorthEast-Pune match ends in a draw on Wednesday, Chennai would be in the semifinals. CFC only need a point at Pune on Sunday if there is a result at Guwahati.
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