ISL 2015: Mendoza keeps Chennaiyin's qualification hopes alive with second hat-trick
Three goals from Chennaiyin striker Stiven Mendoza gave the home team a 4-1 win against Kerala Blasters at the Marina Arena on Saturday. This is Chennaiyin's first win in their last five matches and keeps them afloat in the race for qualification, while Kerala drop to the bottom of the league.
The home side took an early lead in only the second minute of the game. Chennaiyin midfielder, Thoi Singh, produced a dangerous cross from the right wing and it was headed clear by Rahul Bheke. But the ball reached only as far as Dhanachandra Singh on the left wing and the Chennaiyin left back produced a stunning left-footed volley to find the back of the net at the far post.
Stiven Mendoza doubled Chennaiyin's lead in the 15th minute, when he ran onto a long ball from Dhana. The pacy striker reached the ball before Kerala Blasters goalkeeper, Stephen Bywater, and then curled a lovely shot beyond the custodian's reach.
Mendoza made sure of the three points when he scored his team's third goal of the match in the 80th minute. Thoi Singh was put through on goal by a lovely pass from the Colombian striker, and the Indian midfielder cut back onto his right foot, before passing it to Mendoza at the edge of the box. The Chennaiyin forward drilled in a powerful shot with the outside of his left foot, but the ball took a wicked deflection off Bruno Perone, leaving the goalkeeper with no chance to stop it from hitting the back of the net.
Just a minute later, Mendoza completed his second hat-trick of the season to score Chennai's fourth. Harmanjot Khabra lifted the ball over the top of the Kerala defence from a quickly taken free-kick, and Sandesh Jhingan could not keep up with Mendoza in the race to reach it. In the end, Mendoza had the simple task of poking it past the on-rushing goalkeeper, and he obliged in style.
Kerala striker Antonio German scored a late consolation goal in the 90th minute to provide some respectability to the scoreline. Chennaiyin's defence failed to deal with Mehtab Hossain's free-kick and the ball fell kindly for German at the edge of the box. The Englishman's powerful shot caught a deflection off Dhana, before nestling into the bottom corner.
Terry Phelan's decision to drop Mohammed Rafi to the bench will draw a lot of criticism. The Blasters are now five points behind fourth placed NorthEast United and two of their remaining three games are away from home- it is fair to say that Phelan's men will have to perform a miracle to find a place in the knockout stage this season.
Chennaiyin on the other hand have two back-to-back home games, against Delhi Dynamos and Mumbai City, and Mendoza's form will provide them with a lot of confidence heading into the business end of the season.
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