ISL: Chennai draw deep, deny Delhi last four berth

CHENNAI: In the end, Delhi Dynamos gave it their best shot. After being two goals down, they rallied to secure a 2-2 draw with Chennaiyin FC at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium on Tuesday.
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The Dynamos, who now have 18 points from 14 games, have to await the results of other games to see if they have made it to the semifinals. Chennaiyin FC's Bruno Pelissari silenced the crowd when he scored directly from a corner to put the hosts ahead.
Jeje then doubled the lead for Chennai in the first half. However, an Alessandro del Piero free-kick and a late Hans Mulder strike completed Delhi's fight back.
Coach-player Marco Materazzi chose to rest his best players Elano and Bernard Mendy. Both of them were on three bookings and another one would mean that they would be suspended for the first-leg of the semifinals. Eric Djemba-Djemba too was on the bench but Alessandro Nesta got his first start in the ISL.
Delhi, on the other hand, made only one change to the team that won 1-0 against FC Pune City. Dinis Oliviera started instead of Bruno Arias, who picked up a thigh injury in the previous game.
Nesta's towering presence warded off the Delhi charge from the start. Delhi were on the offensive from the word go but it was the former AC Milan defender's experience that made all the difference.
Chennai's forward line stepped up the attack and took an early lead. In the 16th minute, Balwant Singh had a go but his shot was deflected off for a corner. Delhi thought they had it easy before Brazilian Bruno Pelissari sent a terrific ball to the far corner that managed to curl its way into the goal as Delhi custodian Kristof van Hout stood watching haplessly. It was the Brazilian's fourth goal of the season.
The pressure seemed to be getting to the Delhi players by the end of the first quarter. Coach Harm van Veldhoven then fielded Alessandro del Piero to take charge of affairs. The move paid off richly since it was the Italian who led the fightback.
However, before del Piero could work his magic, Chennai doubled their lead through Jeje Lalpekhlua.
Balwant tricked his marker on the left flank and lobbed on to the far corner. Harmanjot Khabra, lurking behind Delhi defender Shouvik Ghosh, ran past him and crossed it to Jeje, who powered it into the top of the net.