Nerijust Valskis struck twice as Chennaiyin FC hammered Jamshedpur FC 4-1 in an Indian Super League match in Chennai on Thursday to boost its chances of making it to the play-offs.
Leading 2-0 at half-time, the hosts added two more goals in the second period while conceding one as Jamshedpur's star player Sergio Castel scored.
With this win, CFC moved to sixth place on the points’ table with 18 points while Jamshedpur slipped to seventh with 16.
It was a dominant performance from the two-time champions who were brilliant from the start.
The Blues scored very early in the game through the prolific Valskis and there was no looking back thereafter. They could have added a second soon after but Andre Schembri missed a golden opportunity.
He missed another but scored when he got his third opportunity in the 43rd minute from a corner.
Jamshedpur FC, on the other hand, were poor in defence and their attack was not great. They had no shots on target in the first half.
CFC were on the attack and moments after Schembri missed a chance, the Maltese forward capitalised on some poor defending by the Jamshedpur to head one past the custodian to put the home team 2-0 ahead in the 43rd minute.
Earlier, Chennaiyin went into the lead in the 13th minute as Valskis continued with his goal-scoring ways. He picked up a superb through ball from Schembri and lifted one over the charging goalie Subrata Paul much to the delight of the fans at the Marina arena.
Castel pulled one back for the visitors when he scored in the 71st minute.
However, Chennaiyin hit back almost immediately with Valskis adding one more goal to his tally while Lallianzuala Chhangte too got into the goal-scorers' sheet by completing the rout.
Mohun Bagan consolidate I-League top spot
Imphal: I-League leaders Mohun Bagan registered an emphatic 3-0 victory away from home against Neroca FC at the Khuman Lampak Stadium on Thursday.
Nongdamba Naorem gave Mohun Bagan the lead in the 27th minute before creating the second goal for Papa Diawara in the 53rd minute.
Substitute Komron Tursunov added the third, deep into stoppage time, to seal the deal for the Mariners.
Mohun Bagan remain ahead of the chasing pack, taking their tally to 20 points while Neroca drop to ninth in the standings.
