Delhi Dynamos recorded their first win in the Indian Super League 2015, as they got past Chennaiyin FC 1-0 at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in New Delhi on Thursday evening.
Brazilian defender Chicao scored the all-important goal for the home side.
The home side started dictating play right from the go, as Ghanian striker Richard Gadze kept breaking through the Chennaiyin defence to create chances. However, the man of the first half for Delhi Dynamos was Gustavo dos Santos. The attacking midfielder, who started on the left flank, was outstanding.
And it was a shame that he had to be stretchered off in the second half following an injury.
His link-up play with Hans Mulder and Florent Malouda gave the the spectators at the JLN stadium plenty to cheer. The display of mellifluous pace and dribbling abilities, which included a magical one-two moment with Malouda just before the half time, remained one of the best moments of the game.
Dynamos drew first blood after Mulder's shot on goal was blocked by former Roma and Juventus midfielder Manuele Blasi inside the box. The referee pointed to the spot for a penalty.
Brazilian centre-back Chicao decided to take the spotkick, and comfortably converted it home, giving Edel Bete no chance.
The former Atletico de Kolkata custodian however showed his class on several occasions of the game as he kept on palming away shots on goal from Gustavo and Dadzie. Bete made two stunning saves inside a minute as he denied a powerful shot from a sprinting Dadzie, who put the defensive abilities of Bernard Mendy to shame, in the 31st minute.
And the resultant corner saw a powerful header from Gustavo. But this time the former Armenia international palmed the ball away.
For the away side, Stiven Mendoza was the main threat, and he kept creating scoring opportunities along with Elano, who came into the thick of things late.
The ex-Manchester City midfielder forced a stunning save from Dynamos goalkeeper Sanjiban Ghosh, following a powerful freekick in the 44th minute.
However, the home side held the momentum going into halftime.
Chennaiyin FC kept coming and creating chances through Mendoza, Balwant Singh, Mendy, as well as Elano, but the home side remained resolute in their defence, where ex-Liverpool star John Arne Riise was oozing calm.
Having said that, on the other end, Dadzie kept on pulling the trigger to try and increase Delhi's lead, but Edel was up to it on every occasion. The 29-year-old goalkeeper dived at full stretch to prevent the Ghanaian in the 55th minute of play.
Chicao also kept joining the attack on a couple of occasions in an attempt to get his brace, but to no avail.
Fikru Teferra came on for the away side in the 80th minute, but the Ethiopian also failed to break the Delhi Dynamos defence. Riise remained inspirational and carried his no-nonsense attitude from start to finish, to deservedly get the Hero of the Match award.
Bruno Pelissari also had a go on a couple of occasions at the death, but just couldn't get the job done. Chennaiyin now have to wait until Sunday for their next match in their bid to get off the mark in the ISL this year.
