Indian Player Ratings: Jerry Lalrinzuala shines as Chennaiyin edge Goa

The youngster who burst onto the scene last season has had another impressive campaign.

FC Goa’s playoffs hope dealt a major blow as a visiting Chennaiyin FC side drew first blood via Inigo Calderon’s 52nd-minute goal and dodged off Gaurs’ high pressing play during the rest of the game. The home side needed the win more than anybody else to progress up the table. As things stand post-match, these are not good signs for Sergio Lobera’s side.

Watch: FC Goa 0-1 Chennaiyin FC

Here’s how the Indian players fared in the game last night.

FC Goa

Naveen Kumar- 6.0

Watch: Naveen Kumar makes an impressive save against Jeje Lalpekhlua's shot

It was Naveen Kumar who got the nod ahead of Laxmikant Kattimani in front of the goal. In the 37th minute, his double save prevented Chennaiyin from breaking the deadlock. However, Inigo Calderon got the better of the Gaurs’ final frontier in the 52nd minute.

Seriton Fernandes- 6.5

The Goan right back put in a fine performance in his capacity. He managed to whip in those odd crosses inside the Chennaiyin box when Goa pressed hard on the visitors. His tackles and physical blocks proved useless as FC Goa were on the receiving end.

Mohammad Ali- 6.0

The 25-year old centre back looked finely tuned during the whole game. He shared a good camaraderie with Bruno Pinheiro and looked comfortable during most of the game. Ali’s valiant display in the Goan backline counted for nothing as they ended on the wrong side of the scoresheet.

Narayan Das- 6.5

This TFA-graduate put in a fine shift for his side. His alertness and agility saved Goa from conceding early in the second half when Jeje managed to slide one past the keeper but Narayan Das came in as cover and cleared off the danger. He was substituted in the 59th minute.

Brandon Fernandes- 6.5

Brandon Fernades put up an impressive performance against the Southerners last night

Brandon Fernandes was lively in the Goan midfield. He worked the ball around nicely and also turned up equally in his defensive responsibilities. He almost scored in the 88th minute with his left-footed thunderbolt, only to be denied by the crossbar.

Mandar Rao Desai- 6.0

Another hard-fought full shift, same old disappointing story follows; Panned out in a similar way for him individually. Mandar created a few chances inside the box but the Chennaiyin backline responded well. He squared one brilliantly to Corominas after cutting in from the left but the ball hesitated to go in off Coro’s flick.

Substitutions

Chinglensana Singh- 5.5

It was a like-for-like change as the Manipuri defender replaced Narayan Das to join the Goa backline. He was impressive during his game time and hardly made any errors.

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Chennaiyin FC

Karanjit Singh- 6.5

Clearly, the better of the two keepers as his performance translated the final result. The veteran Indian keeper was excellent in his decision making and anticipation.

Jerry Lalrinzuala- 7.0

The only Indian in the Chennaiyin backline, Jerry implemented every trick from his magic bag as Chennaiyin were able to soak up Goa’s high pressing gameplay. 5 tackles, 4 clearances, 1 interception and 2 blocks highlighted his fine show on the pitch.

Bikramjit Singh- 6.0

The Punjab-lad turned up against his former employers who badly needed all the three points. However, Bikramjit made life difficult for the Gaurs’ attacking options who eventually went home empty-handed.

Dhanpal Ganesh- 6.5

Dhanpal Ganesh went to the referee’s book very early on in the first half. He carefully put in a full shift in the Chennaiyin midfield clocking up 85% pass accuracy.

Jeje Lalpekhlua- 6.5

The ‘Mizo sniper’ looked sharp up front throwing in steaming runs with the ball in his feet. His low cross off a rebound found Inigo Calderon who scored the solitary goal of the game by taping it in over the goal line. He created a few more chances for his side early on in the 2nd period but the Goan defence warded off the danger.

Substitutions

Anirudh Thapa- 5.5

Came on as a replacement for Bikramjit Singh in the 66th minute. Played an error-free game, keeping FC Goa’s late pressing play at bay. Rotated the ball well.

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Thoi Singh- N/A

Replaced Francisco Fernandes in the 85th minute. Did not have much of a role to play