Indian Player Ratings: Sahil Panwar the star as Pune City neutralize Chennaiyin FC

The Stallions registered their third successive win with the three points against the Marina Machans.

It was a perfect start for Phil Brown in the Indian Super League (ISL) as FC Pune City came from a goal down to defeat the struggling Chennaiyin FC at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in Chennai. Skipper Marcelinho once again proved to be the talisman for the Stallions as his consecutive strikes in the 59th and 60th minutes cancelled out debutant CK Vineeth’s opener just five minutes earlier and provided all three points to the visitors.

 

 

 

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Watch: Chennaiyin FC 1-2 FC Pune City highlights

Here are our player ratings for the Indian players from the game.

Chennaiyin FC

Karanjit Singh – 6.0

Karanjit was in a good shape on the night as he saved four out of the five shots he faced on goal. He should have done better on the fifth one though as unfortunately for him that led to the Stallions’ first goal. During the second goal, the custodian wasn’t at fault as the defence was completely out of place to allow Marcelinho to score his second.

Tondonba Singh – 6.0

The left-back had a hit-and-miss performance against the Stallions as he started the game well and continued to do so in the first half. An amazing cross inside the box in the 31st minute was unfortunately too far for Thapa. Tondonba was also booked in the 69th minute, which can be called as a harsh decision by the referee for a handball while blocking an aerial cross.

Germanpreet Singh – 6.0

Not a very impressive performance by Germanpreet as he just couldn’t make much of an impact on the game. He even received an early booking in the 38th minute for a back push to Marcelinho during a counter attack. Later on in the 49th minute, he once again brought down the same man giving away a free kick in a near dangerous area. Was eventually substituted off to make way for the debutant Christopher Herd.

Anirudh Thapa – 6.5

The 20-year-old had a decent outing at home as he was the shining light in the Chennaiyin midfield. Thapa managed to keep his passes clean with a 77% accuracy and also helped defensively by performing three tackles and clearances each and five interceptions too. His deflected shot landed straight in Vineeth’s feet who scored the opener. Overall, a good performance by the young midfielder.

Zohmingliana Ralte- 5.5

Ralte wasn’t in his top form as he was equally the culprit behind Chennaiyin’s shaky defence. The centre back also came very close to scoring from a couple of corners when he was left unmarked, but he just couldn’t keep his headers low. Overall, he managed to make six clearances one block and an interception. Ralte even received a yellow card for a late foul on Stankovic.

Laldinliana Renthlei- 5.0

Renthlei, in particular, had a disappointing game as he just couldn’t deliver good crosses inside the box. He attempted only a couple of crosses and both of them went out of play leaving his coach frustrated. Although the full-back performed three tackles and an equal number of clearances, it wasn’t a very good performance by him overall as he was substituted in the 76th minute by Jeje.

Holicharan Narzary- 4.5

Another name to feature in the list of Chennaiyin players who disappointed on the night against the Stallions. Time and again Narzary is blamed for his solo play and he continued with the trend at his new club.

In the 26th minute, he put in a lot of power behind a shot which scraped way over the bar, after Kamaljit had almost made a blunder. He came closest to scoring in the 39th minute when he should have attempted a shot from inside the box but he instead chose to put a pass to absolutely no one.

CK Vineeth- 6.0

The debutant registered his first goal for the Marina Machans in his very first game. The striker looked in a good shape as he was a constant threat in the attacking third. Vineeth capitalized on a defensive error by Pune City when he was left unmarked inside the box in the 55th minute. As a matter of fact, that was the only shot he attempted in the entire game and he managed to find the back of the net from a close range.

Substitutions

Jeje Lalpekhlua – 5.5

The 27-year-old came on late in the 76th minute but struggled to make an impact on the game as Chennaiyin trailed by a goal. In his 18-minute cameo, Jeje only managed to get seven touches of the ball.

Thoi Singh- 5.5

After replacing the struggling Germanpreet, Thoi started at the right back position, probably an unfamiliar one for him. Much to John Gregory’s frustration, the player couldn’t settle in as a full back and even put in a poor cross in the 88th minute which went straight out of play.

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FC Pune City

Kamaljit Singh - 7.0

It was another solid performance by Kamaljit who was unlucky to lose his clean sheet after performing several strong saves. However, it was evident that the 23-year-old needs to improve on his ball distribution.

He also made a bad decision to leave his place to charge on Thapa in the 26th minute which almost led to Narzary scoring. However, the custodian did well and improved on his mistake earlier as he registered three confident catches, one of them late in the injury time to ensure his side the victory.

Adil Khan - 6.0

Not his best performance but it certainly was another solid display by the veteran midfielder. The only problem with Adil is that he is too reckless at times and ends up committing fouls in the dangerous areas. No wonder he received a yellow card on one such occasion in the 79th minute when he attempted an unnecessary sliding tackle on Nelson just outside the box. He was eventually substituted by Rohit in the 83rd minute.

Sarthak Golui - 7.5

Sarthak did a great job in a three-man defence alongside Martin Diaz and Sahil Panwar. He managed to perform three tackles, seven clearances, a couple of interceptions and five blocks. One of those blocks was a crucial one which came in the 32nd minute when he chested the ball away from in front of the goal.

Ashique Kuruniyan - 7.0

Ashique’s usual magical touch was missing but he still did well from the left flank. The youngster needs to improve on his passing as he very often wasted possession. However, the good part of it was that he tracked back for almost the entirety of the game and managed to regain possession. Ashique also got an assist for delivering a perfect through ball to Marcelinho on his second goal. However, more is expected from Ashique since his heroics in the first half of the season as well as with the national team and it would be the perfect time to impress the new coach.

Sahil Panwar- 8.0

Panwar was in a brilliant form against the Marina Machans as he just didn’t let anyone get past him. His positioning was perfect while he also maintained a superb 85% pass completion rate. Defensively, the youngster performed nine clearances, two tackles and an equal number of blocks and interceptions.

Robin Singh - 6.0

Robin is yet to score this season and he had the chance to register his first goal in the very first minute if the game when he nicely controlled a brilliant aerial ball by Hume but failed to take the final shot. For the majority of the rest of the game, the veteran striker used his experience and put relentless pressure on the opposition defence. However, as a striker, he will always be judged by the number of goals he scored and taking that into consideration, Robin must improve.

Substitutes

Gurtej Singh - N/A

Came on late in the 91st minute to replace Robin but the game was already won by his side by that time.

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Rohit Kumar- N/A

Replaced Adil in the 83rd minute as he appeared for just the second time this season. However, Rohit couldn’t make much of an impact of the game as he only managed to get four touches of the ball.