Odisha FC were in cruise control as they secured an important win against Chennaiyin FC, beating them with a scoreline of 2-0 at the Kalinga Stadium on Monday. The home side eased to a comfortable victory after two quickfire goals from Jerry Mawihmingthanga and Vinit Rai in the first half.
A recent upturn in form has seen the Bhubaneswar based side register three wins in their last four ISL encounters. With this victory, Odisha FC have climbed up to fifth place and just a point behind Mumbai City FC.
Meanwhile, this was Chennaiyin FC’s fifth defeat of the season as the struggling side see themselves in the ninth position of the points table.
After a scrappy start to the game, things got interesting in the 21st minute when Marcos Tebar headed in from the corner only for the goal to be disallowed for obstruction on Chennaiyin goalkeeper Vishal Kaith.
A few minutes later, there was more drama as Odisha FC’s Shubham Sarangi conceded a penalty but the visiting side failed to capitalize as they missed the spot-kick.
In the dying moments of the first half, the home side scored two goals in quick succession to take control of the game. After the restart, Chennaiyin showed a bit more urgency in their bid to make a comeback but lacked any real firepower in front of goal.
All in all, Odisha FC looked comfortable in dealing with a lacklustre Chennaiyin side and saw off the game without too many scares to secure a crucial home victory.