Aggregate: Goa 5-6 Chennaiyin
LIVE UPDATES
That's all from me here. Thank you for following our blog. We will be back with the match report, post match analysis on our podcast 'Full time Show' and talking points from the match.
Goa fans bow down to their players who have thoroughly entertained them this season. Chennaiyin players celebrate and make their way towards their away support. What a turnaround this has been from Chennaiyin under Owen Coyle. Their remarkable run will see a final flourish again at the Fatorda in seven days time.
11 goals over two legs, 21 in four meetings between them with 12 for Goa. Goa won thrice, Chennaiyin once. But Chennaiyin reaches the final. Football, eh? Both Goa and Chennai players fall to their feet at the end of the game. Goa gave it its all but two more goals was more than what this free-scoring team -- 51 goals in 20 matches -- could manage.
Kaith makes a save and it's full-time . A thriller and some... These two teams do not know any other away. Goa ends Chennaiyin's nine-match unbeaten run but it will not stop the team from Chennai to make its way to the final!
A yellow card for Germanpreet Singh.
90' +3' Chhangte darts through the middle and his left-footed shot is saved by Nawaz.
Four minutes of added time.
Red card for Gama for kicking the ball away. What a silly move from the youngster.
90' A cross from the right and Fall nearly got his hat-trick! He comes in unmarked to meet Manvir's cross but the centre-back completely fluffs it.
88' A foul outside Chennaiyin's box after a handball from Masih. Brandon territory. He floats it into the area which is flicked on by Valskis but Kaith catches it and holds firm. What are you doing, Valskis?
Thapa goes down clutching his legs and Bedia tries to help him out before pulling him up by his shirt. Bedia isn't having any of the time wasting.
86' Valskis is fouled by Gama as the Chennaiyin striker looks to race through on goal. Ref gives him a yellow.
85' Seriton lets one fly from distance and Coro is not happy with him for that effort.
This place is jumping again! Surely they cannot! Can they? It's 4-2 on the night for Goa but it needs two more.
83' GOOAL! Fall has his second and Goa now needs two goals in the last eight minutes! Masih fails to clear a long ball from Jahouh inside the box and Fall reacts to it by heading it past Kaith.
81' GOOAL! Edu Bedia pulls one back by striking it high into the net after a cutback by Fall. The ball fell kindly onto the path of Fall after a clearance fell onto his path.
Change for Chennaiyin: Rafael is taken off for Masih.
There is no space for Goa to squeeze a shot through for a goal.
Coyle will be hoping Crivellaro, Goian and Jerry don't pick up a yellow card in the remaining minutes. A booking for them will mean they will miss the final.
77' Saviour Gama looking to pull one back for Goa but he takes a touch for Coro's layoff which allows Laldinliana to get in the block.
Some Goan fans have started making their way out of the stadium.
Change for Goa: Jackichand is taken off for Saviour Gama
74' Fall trying to create havoc inside Chennaiyin's box with his height but his teammate is not there to get on the knock on.
71' German does well to win the ball from Jahouh before he is through on goal after a one-two with Valskis. But German goes for a shot from distance which is saved by Nawaz.
70' A kickout by Bedia on Germanpreet sees him booked by the referee.
67' Two crucial clearances off the line first from a shot by Coro and then by Manvir. Kaith with the first save before Jerry sticks out his leg.
Goa change: Manvir comes on for Lenny Rodrigues.
65' Coro nearly gets on the end of a through ball from Bedia but Sabia uses his big frame to get in front of the Goa striker.
I can hear crickets chirping through the live feed which tells you the effect those two Chennaiyin goals have had on this game.
62' What a hit from Thapa with his left foot, catches a volley on the full and it needed a good save from Nawaz.
Change for Chennaiyin: Thoi Singh comes on for Schembri
59' GOOAL! Valskis heads it into the near post corner from Rafael's corner! The Chennaiyin striker is unmarked inside the box and he had the simple task of finding his spot. Goa needs to score score in the last 30 minutes. Two sucker-punches from Chennaiyin has killed this tie. Goa's raptures have been silenced.
A long ball from Sabia is controlled by Rafa, whose shot is deflected behind for a corner.
57' Mandar does well to keep the ball in play before Brandon swings in a cross which is headed behind for a corner. No trouble for Chennaiyin from that corner.
Change for Chennaiyin: Germanpreet comes on for Edwin
54' Goa comes back firing again with three successive corners with Sabia needing to head it over from near his goalline.
52' GOAAL! Two-in-two for Chhangte! Chennaiyin gets the away goal! More crucially it's a two-goal advantage for Chennaiyin. Rafael goes on a run on the left side of the box and fizzes it on goal which is pushed away by Nawaz, but Chhangte is on hand to slam home the rebound!
50' Valskis is freed up on the right but his low cross is met by Lenny.
49' From the free-kick, Brandon goes for a long range drive but it's off target. His last goal came against Chennaiyin in December.
48' What a chance! Coro lays off Seriton's cross for Jacki in space but he has overrun that ball and fails to get a good connection on his shot. Kaith clings on to the loose ball.
46' We are back for the second with Chennaiyin beginning proceedings. Brandon's cross from the left needed Kaith to fist it away on the dive with Jackichand lurking behind to tap it into the net.
SECOND HALF
Chennaiyin has failed to score just once (vs Bengaluru FC) in the last nine matches. Can Goa add its fifth clean-sheet of the season today?
45' +2' Jahouh's free-kick is headed away by Goian and that's the end of the first half . Phew! What a half! Goa came out strong, true to its attacking instincts, which pulled Chennaiyin out of shape for close to 30 minutes of the half. Chennaiyin has done well to limit it a 2-0 scoreline and will like to take this score at the end of the ninety minutes. Another talking point will be how much will Boumous injury affect Goa's chances? A tantalising 45 minutes await to find out who will become our first finalist.
45' +1' A corner for Chennaiyin after Fall cuts out Chhangte's cross. Fall makes amends by heading Rafael's cross out of danger.
Two minutes of added time
44' Jahouh brings down Schembri near the half-way line which allows some medical attention on Coro, who went down earlier.
41' Sabia with a foul on Coro from behind near the halfway line. Jahouh's free-kick is long and goes out of play. Chennaiyin has done well to limit the Goa onslaught after the 2-0 lead.
Coyle's remonstrations on the touchline attract the attention of the referee.
38' Penalty appeals waved away. Fall with a push from behind on Valskis, who was through on goal. Replay shows it was just outside the box.
36' Schembri does well on the right to make room for a cross which required Nawaz to paw it over the bar. Assistant gives it as a goal-kick and Coyle is seething on the touchline.
34' Chennaiyin squanders opportunity on the break with Rafael over-hitting his through ball for Chhangte. Rafael himself isn't impressed with his effort.
33' Chennaiyin looks for some breather by holding on to the ball but it ends with Schembri giving it away cheaply. Goa go on the attack immediately which ends in Kaith clinging on to a cross.
Goa deserves to win everything for just having Jahouh on the field. How good is this guy. Everything is coming through this man in the middle of the park.
28' A little scuffle between Chhangte and Serriton, the referee isn't happy. He has a chat with them and suggests no more of that.
25' Goa looks for the third with Jackichand and Bedia coming close. The former's first meaningful contribution sees him head the ball wide inside Chennaiyin's box.
Oh hang on. Boumous can't continue anymore. Edu Bedia replaces him.
21' GOOAL! 2-0 and it's game on! Fall with a thumping header from Brandon's free-kick to power the ball into the net! Fall rouses the home crowd but I reckon they don't need any more encouragement.
Thapa with a poor challenge as he is late to the ball. A free-kick outside the area.
Chennaiyin struggling to string together a meaningful move thus far.
17' Goian almost made amends by getting on to the corner by heading it across goal but there is no taker for Chennaiyin.
16' Fall with a high boot in a challenge with Valskis. Referee awards a free kick. A short free kick to play in Edwin on the right, whose cross is put behind for a corner by Jahouh.
14' A cheap giveaway from Laldinliana, whose pass is intercepted by Coro. Goa manages a corner out of it after Jerry puts it behind. Coro heads the corner into the scrum inside the box which Fall flicks it wide with his own header.
Goa needs two more now. Goa has pinned Chennaiyin into its own half.
10' GOAL! There's the first goal for Goa! And it's come from Lucian Goian, who heads it into his own next try to keep out Jackichand's cross into the six yard area from the right. Jahouh with a great ball to find Jacki's run!
These teams have never played out a goalless draw in six seasons of ISL. Anyone fancy a 0-0 today?
7' Seriton runs on the overlap, checks in to square it for Boumous. Boumous' drive from the edge of the box can't beat the Chennaiyin bodies in the area.
5' Rafael's low drive from the free-kick is pouched by Nawaz.
4' Pena with a foul on Valskis. Mandar then pulls down Schembri on the right side of Goa's box.
4' Brandon with a superb pick-out for Jacki inside Chennaiyin's box. The winger, however, cannot keep the ball in play.
2' Jahouh clips it over the top and Pena jumps over Sabia to meet the ball but he puts it wide!
1' Goa kicks from left to right. An early ball played into Coro but Goian stands firm to take the ball off him inside the box. More pressure from Goa which results in Jerry fouling Coro from behind, free-kick to the home side outside Chennaiyin's box.
Chennaiyin wins the coin toss, Goa to kick things off in the second leg.
FIRST HALF
7.25 pm: Martin Bain, FSDL CEO, awards the shield to Goa skipper and local player Mandar Dessai. He lofts it high to the cheers of the home fans. Carlos Pena gestures his men to not celebrate. There is still business to take care of for them.
7.20 pm: Goa will be awarded with the league winner's shield today at the Fatorda ahead of kick-off. Chennaiyin will give a guard of honour to the 'champions' of India. Couple of Goa fans at the stands wave the ISL trophy and shield replicas. The real shield is in the kitty, can Goa give itself a chance to add the real trophy to the cabinet?
7 pm: Anirudh Thapa can't seem to put a foot wrong at the moment. Away from the pitch, too, he seems to be on the money. Can you name 20 ISL foreigners in one minute? The Chennaiyin midfielder can.
6.50 pm: Chennaiyin is unbeaten in its last five away matches. Goa has won its last six home matches, scoring 19 goals. Read our preview and what the coaches had to say in the build-ip.
6.36 pm: As expected, Boumous and Brandon return to the starting XI for Goa. Manvir Singh takes his place on the bench with Bedia finding a place next to him. No Seimenlen Doungel in the matchday squad for Goa. Chennaiyin sticks to the same XI which beat Goa 4-1, while Tondonba Singh, who is back from suspension, replaces Dhanpal Ganesh on the bench.
6.15 pm: While Goa dearly missed the trio of Hugo Boumous, Brandon Fernandes and Edu Bedia in the first leg, the trio is back for the return leg, with Boumous and Brandon expected to go straight into the starting line-up.
6 pm: 30 minutes until the team news is out. Earlier this season, Goa's Ferran Corominas and his countryman Carlos Pena featured in our ISL video series 'Off the Pitch'.
5.43 pm: If you thought that Chennaiyin would settle for a 0-0 draw, then think again. After Scotsman Owen Coyle took over six matches into the season, one of the positives he drew upon was the attacking talent he had at his disposal. Coyle speaks to us about the revival, India, and more in this interview .
5.30 pm: Well who saw that coming, eh? I am sure many did considering the run Chennaiyin is on. And I am sure no one will be surprised if Goa does what Goa does best -- score goals for fun! If the first leg scoreline of 4-1 is what to go by, the second leg promises to be a thrilling one.
Where to watch
You can catch the play-offs of the Indian Super League on the
Star Sports Network . You can also stream the games on the go on
Hotstar . Alternatively, stay with us for all the updates from the game as they happen.
Comments
SHARE