Chennaiyin FC were due a big performance in ISL 2015, after two rather poor efforts, and FC Goa were the team who felt their wrath as the team from Chennai turned on the style in a 4-0 win in Fatorda, with Stiven Mendoza grabbing a delightful hat-trick.
Knowing nothing but three points would do after two consecutive losses to open up the Indian Super League season, Chennaiyin started the game like a house on fire, using the pace of Stiven Mendoza and Jayesh Rane and the guile of Elano to devastating effect.
The first 15 minutes of the match was all Chennaiyin and they were rewarded with a goal as well, via their enigmatic forward Mendoza. Elano was the creator, putting through the Colombian, who slotted the ball through the goalkeeper's legs. The ball was trickling in, before the Goa defence tried to clear off the line, but Mendoza was on hand to slot in the rebound and give Chennaiyin a deserved lead.
Despite dominating much of the first half, Marco Materazzi's men only got their second goal two minutes before halftime, and it was Elano, last season's golden boot winner's turn to score.
Thoi Singh squared the ball to Jayesh from the right with the Chennaiyin forward slipping the ball through to Elano, who made absolutely no mistake with the finish.
If there was any doubt of a fabulous FC Goa second half comeback, it was put to bed in the 62nd minute, with that wonderfully talented Brazilian Elano to the fore again.
Elano broke with the ball from his own half, before picking out a perfectly weighted pass for Mendoza, who obliged with a beautiful finish, lifting the ball over the onrushing goalkeeper Elinton Andrade.
With the match killed off by that third goal, the remaining half an hour was just about seeing the game off, or so everyone but Mendoza thought, with the Colombian becoming the first player in ISL 2015 to grab a hat-trick with another brilliant finish 15 minutes from time.
On another day, Goa might have made a game of this, with the long-range strike from CS Sabeeth that went in off the post, and was not given being a case in point, but what cannot be denied is that this was a proper pasting for FC Goa, who just did not show up. Zico, who will be regretting starting with the same XI for the third consecutive game, has plenty of work to do to get his team to bounce back after suffering their first loss of ISL 2015.
