Naocha Singh brace as Sudeva Delhi FC hammer Chennai City in I-League

The victory marked their second win in their ongoing league campaign.

Debutants Sudeva Delhi FC grabbed their second win of the Hero I-League to enter the top half of the Hero I-League table with eight points, as the Chencho Dorji-coached side defeated Chennai City FC 4-0 at the VYBK Stadium in Kolkata, West Bengal today (February 03, 2021).

Naocha Singh’s quick-fire brace in the first ten minutes of the match and strikes by Mahesh Singh and Manvir Singh in the second half proved to be enough for the Delhi-based side as they registered a comfortable win over Chennai City FC. With this loss, Chennai City FC finds themselves in the bottom half of the table with only six points out of five matches.

Sudeva Delhi FC got off to a dream start and found the net twice in the first ten minutes of the match. First, in the 6th minute, Naocha Singh tapped home from inside of the box after he was found by a brilliant Naorem Mahesh cross that completely bamboozled the opposition defence before falling to the forward.

Four minutes later, Sudeva’s high pressing style of play reaped dividends. Kean Lewis stole possession high up the field and put Naocha Singh onto goal. From a tight angle, the forward produced a sublime finish to put Sudeva two goals up.

The quick-fire brace by Naocha seemed to suck the life out of Chennai City FC. The Satyasagara-coached side rarely made chances and were playing catch-up for much of the half, losing balls easily in the midfield and failing to retrieve second balls.

Meanwhile, a spurred Sudeva Delhi side went in for the kill and hunted for their third goal of the match against Chennai City. In the 23rd minute, Kean Lewis missed a clean chance after a Mahesh Singh header found him clear on the far post, from a long throw-in. With the empty net waiting to receive Lewis’ shot, the midfielder hit the post as the ball went back into play.

Although Chennai City FC survived the scare of going three down before half-time, their defence, time and again, was being penetrated with ease by the one-touch style of play of Sudeva Delhi. However in the 34th minute, much against the run of play, a long ball found Syed Pasha inside the Sudeva box. The forward whizzed past his defending man but could only shoot the ball wide from a tight angle. The half-time scoreline read 2-0 in Sudeva’s favour.

Two quickly became three for Sudeva after the break as in the 51st minute, Naorem Mahesh Singh ran towards the Chennai City FC goal, after dancing past two defenders, beating them with sheer pace. The forward coolly slotted the ball home with his left foot to put Sudeva Delhi FC three goals ahead.

Rattled, Chennai City FC committed bodies in attack and aspired to stage a remarkable comeback. But there was trouble brewing for the Satyasagara’s team on the counter. The former Hero I-League champions were almost caught out of position almost immediately and conceded the fourth goal, had Manvir Singh’s volley not earned a brilliant save by the Chennai custodian after he was found by a Mahesh Singh cross from the left flank in the 56th minute.

Shortly after, Manvir again had a chance to put Sudeva four goals ahead but this time too, the forward failed to score with only the opposition goalkeeper to beat. However, he finally found the net in the 71st minute when his curling shot from close range went past the opposition custodian to extend Sudeva’s lead to four goals.

With a commanding cushion, Sudeva sat back, dominated possession and diffused Chennai’s attacks with ease, with Elvedin Skrijelj also receiving his marching orders in the 80th minute after a foul on a Sudeva player. The full-time scoreline read 4-0 as Sudeva staged a remarkable win over their opponents.

His performances have caught the attention of all and sundry. The youngster has been able to marry his grit and graft along with panache on the ball – propelling him to be considered amongst one of the best in the business in the country when it comes to names in centre midfield.

“Goa is a state which breathes football. Quite like the place I come from. It will be an honour for me to represent the people of Goa and wear their colours. They have great expectations from the team and I want to help live up to it,” further added Amarjit.

“FC Goa goes into every game with the intent of winning and that is vital. That’s a culture that has been well cultivated and something I want to inculcate even more. Right now, I am eager to get on to the pitch, give my all and impress. This is a big challenge for me as well as there are many good players in my position and this will force me to improve upon myself further.”

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