Half Time Report: Delhi hold early lead with debatable penalty; Chennai have battle on hand

Starting Line-ups:

Delhi Dynamos FC: Sanjiban Ghosh, Chicao, John Arne Riise, Hans Mulder, Zodingliana Ralte, Florent Malouda, Gustavo Dos Santos, Souvik Chakraborty, Shylo Mama, Anas Edathodika, Richard Gadze.

Chennaiyin FC: Apoula Edel, Abhishek Das, Bernard Mendy, Alessandro Potenza, Lalhmangaihsanga Ralte, Manuele Blasi, Harmanjot Khabra, Thoi Singh, Elano Blumer, Stiven Mendoza, Balwant Singh.

A debatable penalty decision gave Delhi Dynamos an early lead as Chennaiyin FC struggled to keep up with the hosts' dominant start in terms of attacks in an ISL second round encounter at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in Delhi.

The game began in a confrontational manner with the referee forced to bring out the cards very early. After a few fouls from Thoi Singh and Hans Mulder, it was Zodingliana Ralte who was shown the first yellow five minutes into the game.

But soon afterwards a shot from Gustavo dos Santos came off the upper arm of Blasi, and the referee judged it a handball. Chennaiyin players protested, as Blasi's hand was inside his body and there was no intention behind his touching the ball, but the decision stood and Chicao put away the penalty to give the home team a 1-0 lead in the 8th minute.

The next twenty-odd minutes saw attacks almost exclusively from Delhi even as Chennaiyin kept most of the ball and a flurry of yellow cards. Potenza got on the referee's book for a lousy challenge. Then it was Delhi's Riise who brought down Mendosa and got a yellow. Richard Gadze, an influential presence for Delhi up front, put a harsh foul on Potenza but escaped being booked.

Riise and Mulder featured heavily as Chennaiyin slowly tried to get hold of the game and put together their own attacks. Mulder got a yellow of his own for a foul on Mendosa. When Elano found Mendosa with a free kick inside the Delhi box, Riise was there to block it.

Then Gadze put together one of the best moves of the night so far as he charged forward from the midfield, got past Blasi and Mendy trying to sandwich him, survived a push from Mendy, kept his balance and shot at the goal on the run... but Chennaiyin keeper Edel dived to the left and gave the ball a slight one-handed deflection to make it kiss the post and go out for a corner. 

Then it was Elano who sparked a bit of skill as he put Abhishek Das behind and sent in a sharp cross which was just about cleared by Riise.

Next it was Mendosa again, as he got the ball thanks to a blunder from Anas and took a shot with only Sanjiban ahead of him. The Delhi keeper had nothing to do there, but the ball only hit the bar. 

Mendosa threatened the Delhi defence again as he fed Elano inside the box. The latter sent in a blinder. But it went out for a corner. 

Sanjiban Ghosh, who has had a stellar first half, was put to task again towards the end of the period as Elano's free kick put pressure in the box. The Delhi keeper rushed ahead and slapped the ball away to safety. 

The half ended with the home side leading 1-0. Chennaiyin FC will have a lot to complain about the refereeing as at least a few decisions have gone against them, including the penalty. The referee has also been trigger-happy, throwing up four yellow cards already in the first half. Other than that, manager Marco Materazzi will be worried with the stagnation seen in most of his midfielders.

For Delhi things are going well, they have been the more offensive team despite having less possession. They need to make sure Richard Gadze remains well supplied in the second half as he has done some tremendous work and deserves a goal. Holding down a couple of Chennaiyin danger men, like Elano and Mendosa, will be crucial for them to maintain the lead. Substituting defender Abhishek Das who has been bullied by Elano so far seems like a good place to start.