Bengaluru, November 4: I-League club Chennai City FC snatched a 2-2 draw against Indian Super League debutants Bengaluru FC in a friendly played in Ballari on Saturday (November 4).
Gurpreet Singh and Veniamin struck for Chennai City, while Daniel Lalhlimpuia and Sunil Chhetri were on the mark for BFC, who did not feature a lot of first-team players. Yet, considering it was Chennai City's first-ever competitive game of this season, it was a great result for the visitors.
Chennai City are grappling with scheduling issues after it turned out on Friday (November 3) that they will not be able to play any home games in the I-League until December. Chennai City will play in Coimbatore's Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium instead of Chennai as the latter venue is home for Indian Super League club Chennaiyin FC. Work on the Coimbatore pitch, however, has begun only on Wednesday (November 1) and it will take at least a month for ground staff to relay the turf.
First friendly! 2-2 draw vs @bengalurufc #CCFC goal scorers Gurpreet Singh and Veniamin!#BFC scorers Daniel and Chhetri! pic.twitter.com/vaoBRNjBGK
— Chennai City FC (@ChennaiCityFC) November 4, 2017
Chennai have accordingly informed the All India Football Federation to not schedule any home matches until the pitch is ready, a report claims. Team owner Rohit Ramesh confirmed that the AIFF has acceded their request.
Chennai also spent their last one month training in Coimbatore. The club reportedly conducted their training session at the Yuvabharathi Public School in Coimbatore to get accustomed to the city's climate ahead of the I-League, which will kick off this month.
Meanwhile, BFC have a chance to avenge the draw when they take on Chennai City in another friendly on Sunday (November 5).