Sereno heads resilient Chennai to win against below-par Pune

The defender scored the only goal of the game late in the second half to fire the Super Machans to back-to-back wins.

Chennaiyin FC picked up their second consecutive win in Hero Indian Super League (ISL) 2017-18 after beating FC Pune City 1-0 at the Shree Shiv Chhatrapati Sports Complex Stadium in Pune in on Sunday. Skipper Henrique Sereno scored the only goal late on in the second half to secure all three points for the visitors.

The Stallions started on the front foot and charged forward with attacks, while Chennai did their best to soak up the pressure. The visitors fashioned the first real chance of the game from a Bikramjit Singh corner in the 12th minute. Dhanpal Ganesh’s flick though, hit the side netting.

Four minutes later, Pune themselves hit the side netting after Marcelinho went on a run down the left flank and let fly. The hosts kept knocking on the door, and Marcelinho forced Chennaiyin custodian Karanjit Singh into a first save in the 23rd minute when his beautifully weighted ball from a free-kick bounced awkwardly in front of him.

Seven minutes later, they did put the ball in the back of the net after Emiliano Alfaro bundled in from his own rebound following a first-time shot from Baljit Sahni’s pass. The Uruguayan though, was correctly flagged offside.

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Chennaiyin, who were silent for large phases of the half, forced Pune’s Vishal Kaith into a save in the 37th minute courtesy of Gregory Nelson, who cut in from the left and directed a powerful effort goal-wards that the Stallions custodian palmed away. However, neither side managed to break the deadlock as the teams went in for the half-time interval with a 0-0 score line.

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The second half began with both sides matching each other evenly, although the game started getting physical in the middle of the park with tackles flying in. Kaith had a heart in the mouth moment in the 64th minute when he fumbled a Jerry Lalrinzuala cross, allowing Francisco Fernandes to take a shot from the loose ball. Rafael Lopez though came to his side’s rescue with a heroic goal-line clearance.

The deadlock was finally broken in the 82nd minute by the visitors, and it came from a corner. Substitute Jaime Gavilan floated in an inch-perfect ball into the box and Sereno rose tallest to head it in. Gavilan also had the last chance of the match in stoppage time when his clever free-kick from the edge of the box just floated over the goal. The 1-0 win for Chennai propels them to the second spot in the table behind Bengaluru FC