Kalinga Super Cup: Chennaiyin FC bow out with defeat to Mumbai City FC

Bhubaneswar, April 23 (IANS) Chennaiyin FC fell to a 4-0 defeat against Mumbai City FC in a Round-of-16 clash of the Kalinga Super Cup 2025 here on Wednesday. The Marina Machans battled hard across both halves but conceded late goals against the run of play to see out a reverse at the Kalinga Stadium.

Head coach Owen Coyle named an attacking side for the clash. Playmaker Connor Shields partnered with Jiteshwor Singh in the middle of the park, flanked on either side by Irfan Yadwad and Lukas Brambilla. Up front, Wilmar Jordan Gil and Daniel Chima Chukwu lined up in a two-man attack. A frenetic start saw Elsinho lunge in for an important interception seconds after kick-off before the referee waved off strong appeals by the Marina Machans for a handball inside the opposition box.

Looking to add to his eight goals across all editions in the competition, Jordan Gil was the next to try his luck, six minutes in, only to fire straight at the goalkeeper.

In the Chennaiyin goal, Mohammad Nawaz thwarted the opposition's attempt to catch him off his line after 13 minutes. Three minutes later, the custodian palmed a venomous strike away to safety. With Shields pulling the strings in the final third, both Chima Chukwu and Jordan glanced headers narrowly wide, while Jiteshwor and Vignesh Dakshinamurthy shot over from distance during a period of Chennaiyin dominance.

Mumbai took the lead in the 43rd minute through a Nikolaos Karelis header. Chennaiyin, however, returned after the interval with intent and came agonizingly close to a leveller when Brambilla and Jordan saw their efforts cleared off the line in succession in minute 48.

Chennaiyin kept the intensity high throughout their search for the equaliser. Irfan tested the goalkeeper with a headed attempt from a corner, while Jordan’s acrobatic effort flew over the bar minutes later.

The Marina Machans had another appeal for a handball inside the box waved off at the hour mark. Mumbai, then, added to their lead against the run of play through Lallianzuala Chhangte. Chhangte scored a third for Mumbai late on, before Bipin Singh rounded off the scoring.

--IANS

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