Chennai, April 7 A double strike from Alfred Moya in the second half ensured Inter Kashi FC beat Chennaiyin FC 2-1 to secure their second win in the Indian Super League 2025-26 here on Tuesday.
Inter Kashi moved to eighth place in the table with eight points from seven matches while Chennaiyin FC remained in 11th place with five points from six games. Alfred Moya was adjudged the Player of the Match.
Chennaiyin FC head coach Clifford Miranda made four changes to his starting XI, with Iñigo Martín, D. Vignesh, Irfan Yadwad and Mohammed Ali Bemammer coming in to replace Elsinho, Mandar Rao Desai, Maheson Singh and Daniel Chima Chukwu.
Meanwhile, Inter Kashi head coach Antonio López Habas also made four changes, with Shubham Dhas preferred in goal over Lluis Tarrés Campos, Narender Gahlot replacing Sumeet Passi, Ashish Jha coming in for Nauris Petkevičius, and Mohammed Asif starting ahead of Tomba Singh.
Both sides began cautiously, understanding each other's tactics in the early exchanges, but it was Chennaiyin who enjoyed the greater share of possession, with Bemammer and Alberto Noguera dictating play in midfield.
Inter Kashi, to their credit, were organised in defence, protecting the penalty area and denying Chennaiyin any clear openings, forcing the hosts to resort to long-range efforts that did not trouble Shubham in goal.
At the other end, Rohit Danu looked lively down the left flank for the visitors, delivering a couple of inviting crosses into the box, both of which were dealt with well by the Chennaiyin defence. Alfred Moya too tried his luck from distance just before the drinks break, but his effort curled wide of the post.
Inter Kashi came closest to scoring in first-half added time from a set piece. Wayne Vaz got on the end of a corner, but his initial effort was blocked, and the defender's follow-up was saved by Mohammad Nawaz. The rebound then fell to Rohit Danu, who chipped it goalwards, only for Laldinliana to clear it off the line, ensuring both sides went into the break goalless.
The visitors opened the scoring immediately after the restart through Alfred Moya. Rohit Danu sent in a cross from the left, which was brought down on the chest by Sergio Llamas, and Bemammer failed to clear the danger. The loose ball fell kindly to Moya, who calmly placed his shot past Nawaz to give his side the lead.
Inter Kashi doubled their advantage eight minutes later, capitalising on a miscommunication in the Chennaiyin defence.
Moya drove into the box with Noguera tracking back, but a lapse between the defenders saw him left unchallenged, each anticipating the other to intervene. The forward made no mistake, deftly poking the ball past the goalkeeper to grab his second of the night.
Clifford Miranda brought in fresh legs in the hope of injecting some energy moving forward.
Chennaiyin looked better in attack chasing the two-goal deficit but clear-cut chances eluded the home side. Faroukh Chaudhary came the closest to score from a left footed effort at the end of a good run which was saved by the goalkeeper.
The home side's persistent pressure eventually yielded a consolation goal deep into stoppage time. Irfan Yadwad diverted Noguera's cross into a dangerous area, which was only half-cleared by the Inter Kashi defence as both Narender and Nishchal Chandan went for the ball.
The loose clearance looped up inside the box, and Chima Chukwu, rifled it past the goalkeeper, but it proved too late for a comeback for the Marina Machans.