ISL 2021-22: Bolstered by Valskis return, Chennaiyin FC look to roll over FC Goa

Chennaiyin
snapped
a
two-game
losing
sequence
to
script
a
win
against
Jamshedpur
FC,
albeit
being
lucky
at
times.

Placed
sixth
in
the
ISL
points
table,
Chennaiyin
have
14
points
in
their
kitty
from
nine
games
and
with
a
win
on
the
morrow,
they
can
end
the
first
half
of
the
season
inside
the
top-four.

ISL
POINTS
TABLE
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RESULTS
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FIXTURES

The
former
champions
bolstered
their
ranks
by
bringing
back
Nerijus
Valskis
from
Jamshedpur.

Lithuanian
forward
Valskis
had
donned
Chennaiyin
colours
in
his
first
season
in
India,
the
2019-20
ISL
campaign.

He
had
scored
15
goals
for
the
club
in
that
season,
also
winning
the
ISL
Golden
Boot
and
reaching
the
finals
where
the
club
lost
to
ATK
FC
1-3.

Valskis
makes
a
dramatic
return
to
Chennayin
FC
from
Jamshedpur
FC

“Valskis
will
be
available
and
Ariel
Borysiuk
will
skip
this
game.
He
is
feeling
much
better
so
we
will
see
what
will
happen
in
the
next
few
days
and
decide
about
the
game
on
thirteenth,”
said
CFC
coach
Bozidar
Bandovic.

Chennaiyin
have
benefited
from
Vladimir
Koman’s
passing
and
vision
and
that
was
evident
in
the
last
game
when
Koman
set
up
Lukasz
Gikiewicz
for
his
winner.
Koman
has
become
the
club’s
midfield
orchestrator
since
his
arrival
this
season.
Apart
from
scoring
twice
and
setting
up
once,
Koman
has
created
15
goalscoring
chances,
the
highest
among
Chennaiyin
players
this
season.

For
FC
Goa,
their
performance
against
Kerala
Blasters
betrayed
a
lot
of
character
and
head
coach
Derrick
Pereira
can
draw
a
lot
of
heart
from
that
display.
Goa
will
depend
a
lot
on
midfield
lynchpin
Edu
Bedia
who
scored
a
wonderful
Olympic
goal
to
help
the
Gaurs
draw
2-2
against
Kerala
Blasters.

He
has
10
goals
and
12
assists
in
79
Hero
ISL
appearances.
What
he
brings
to
the
Goa
team
is
his
ability
to
control
games,
dictate
the
tempo
and
offer
passing
options
to
teammates.

“We
have
a
good
side.
I
think
we
don’t
need
any
more
reinforcements.
We
just
need
to
back
our
players.
We
have
enough
players
to
go
to
the
next
stage
of
the
league,”
Pereira
said
when
asked
if
there
would
be
any
incoming
in
the
current
window
to
bolster
the
squad.

The
match
being
part
of
the
weekend
double-header
will
kick
off
at
9.30pm
IST
at
Bambolim
Athletic
Stadim
in
Goa
with
live
telecast
available
on
Star
Sports
network
and
live
streaming
available
on
Disney
+
Hotstar.

(With
ISL
Media
inputs)