Real Kashmir stake claim for title with 1-0 victory over Chennai City

In a highly competitive fixture between the league leaders and the snow leopards, home favourites Real Kashmir FC registered a historic 1-0 victory over Chennai City FC in the I-League on Monday.

With the mega win, Kashmir are now two points short of the leaders Chennai in the joint second place with Churchill Brothers, who are set to face the snow leopards in their next match.

A scintillating match was evenly poised till the 82nd minute when the Ivorian forward Gnohere Krizo nailed the goal with a perfect header.

The match kicked off with some real attacking display of football by the visiting team. Chennai held the fort and managed to fend off Kashmir's early raids. In the 13th minute, the hosts almost took the lead when a goal-mouth melee from a corner saw the ball go wide by a few inches and into the side-netting.

Seven minutes later, Chennai threatened the hosts' goal for the first time when goalkeeper Bilal Khan failed to collect a Sandro Rodriguez free kick. To the relief of Bilal, the ball was cleared away for a corner by an onrushing defender.

In the 32nd minute, Kashmir had the best chance of the game when Gnohere Krizo found himself in space for a shot face to face with the Chennai's goalkeeper Nauzet Santana, but Krizo could not convert the opportunity. A well fought first half ended in a 0-0 scorelilne at half-time.

Kashmir started the second half in a similar attacking fashion, with Krizo and attacking midfielder Mason Robertson, forcing the Chennai backline to play deeper than usual. 10 minutes into the half, Kashmir had another chance when centre-back Loveday Enyinnaya was left unmarked during a free kick. The defender's header was saved by Santana and midfielder Danish Farooq's follow-up shot was cleared for a corner.

Several opportunities were created by Kashmir during the match, but Chennai's luck ran out in the 81st minute. Coming from the right flank, Danish put a dipping cross into the box. An unmarked Krizo kept his composure and headed the ball into the net.

Despite the goal in the closing stages of the match, the snow leopards did not stop roaring. They kept their attacking game on and three minutes later missed a wonderful opportunity to score when Bazie Armand's header hit the crossbar. The hosts kept their composure until the end and emerged as a strong, confident team.

"This was a tough match for us since we were fighting against the league leaders. I am pleased with the performance of the boys; they showed some real dedication to win. We did have a couple of missed chances but that's how the game goes," Kashmir's coach David Robertson said.