Welcome to Sportstar's live blog of the Super Cup 2019 final clash between FC Goa and Chennaiyin FC played at the Kalinga Stadium in Bhubaneshwar.
This is Amal John here and I'll be giving you company through this evening's summit clash.
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FULL TIME
FC Goa has done it! It finally wins a final and more importantly, a trophy in the kitty. It sees out Chennaiyin FC 2-1 in a thrilling final.
I've said it quite it lot today, but I'll say it again - FC Goa has deserved it. After failing to lift the ISL trophy despite a season of attractive attacking football, the Super Cup victory is the least it deserves for a fantastic season. Don't you think so?
But credit where it's due to Chennaiyin FC who put such a tough fight. We've to remember - this is the same team that finished bottom of the ISL table this season. But they've fought back since and really turned up in the final. Only positives to take back for Chennaiyin and its fans who have the AFC Cup to look forward to.
90+5' ELI SABIA WITH A CHANCE...HITS THE CROSSBAR! Is that as close as Chennaiyin will come? Sabia, free, takes a shot from the centre of the box but it somehow finds the crossbar and comes out. Where's the luck, Chennaiyin fans will be asking.
90+4' Brandon's being substituted here. Another Goan comes in to replace him - Liston.
90+2' At the other end, Goa breaks with a counter. Brandon switches flanks to play it to Manvir. Karanjit gets a touch on the shot and puts it out for a corner. However. it was a meek shot, he should have held on. 15th corner of the match.
90+1' Six minutes added on! That's a lot of time for Chennaiyin. And they have a corner. It's cleared but falls to Germanpreet who takes a shot from distance. It's blocked.
89' Mailson Alves shoots from distance! Boy, that's ambitious. Nawaz holds it comfortably. That's the 25th shot of the game. Is this worthy of a final or what?
87' Substitution for Goa - Zaidkrouch is coming on for Hugo Boumous. Not a very defensive change, is it? But containing is not what Lobera's known for. Are we going to see more goals from the Gaurs?
82' Substitution - Mohammad Rafi comes on for Thapa. For all of you who don't know Rafi, he's a specialist in such situations. He scored the winning goal for Chennaiyin the first time they won the ISL in 2016.
81' CHANCE! Goa with another chance. Coro goes down in the box too, but no penalty. Boumous threads a good pass through to Jacki whose shot is saved by Karanjit by Coro finds himself in a good position to get to the rebound but trips over the keeper. Shouldn't that be a penalty?
78' Chennaiyin is struggling to get back into the game. And where's Thapa. Either Goa has rendered him ineffective or it's just not his day. He's not been as involved as he should be.
76' Bedia makes a strong and evasive run through the middle and almost gets clear in front of goal but Germanpreet makes a last ditch tackle.
73' Goa with more than one chance to create something but it's wasteful. Coro gets his head to a corner but it's slightly behind him. Goa is back into the attack though. Boumous tries to cleverly lay it up behind him but finds no teammate.
71' Chennaiyin takes the corner but Edu Bedia clears. Jacki has a lot of space in front of him. Dinliana stops him and concedes a free-kick.
69' It's end-to-end stuff here. Expect to see more from Chennaiyin with all the attacking reinforcements John Gregory's brought in.
68' Another substitution for Chennaiyin. Dhanapal, who was on a yellow, is replaced Germanpreet Singh.
67' Substitution for Chennaiyin FC. Thoi Singh comes on for Francisco.
64' GOALLL!! Brandon puts FC Goa back in the lead. It's all happening here. Absolute mayhem.
Coro doesn't just score, he provides such brilliant assists as well. He puts Brandon through on goal with a well-weighted and well-directed through ball. The defending isn't great and Brandon does really well to roll it through Mailson's legs and past the keeper into goal.
62' It's a good ball across goal from Boumous but it's a tad too powerful and Coro can't get there to get a touch.
60' Jacki with a shot but it takes a touch and goes out for a corner.
56' What a game we have on our hands here. Everything happened so quickly, I've had no time to explain how the goals happened but bear with me.
Thapa gave the ball away in the middle of the pitch and Boumous darted into the box with the ball at his feet. His shot from an angle is saved by Karanjit but it falls to Coro who makes no mistake putting it in.
Chennaiyin was immediately on the frontfoot looking for the equaliser. Dinliana played a cross into the box which tried to finish with an overhead kick. Boy, would that have been something. But he doesn't get it cleanly and it falls to Augusto who shoots from outside the box. It takes a slight deflection off Seriton and goes into goal.
53' GOAL AND WE'RE LEVEL! Augusto scores!
52' GOALLLLL! Coro (who else) puts Goa in the lead!
50' IT HITS THE CROSSBAR! So unlucky, Edu Bedia. Bedia takes a shot from inside the box and it hits the crossbar and comes out. SO close.
47' Bedia and Dhanapal go down holding their knees after coming together in the middle of the pitch. They're back up after some treatment.
46' SO CLOSE! And Goa's immediately into the attack. Jackichand's shot from the edge of the box rolls inches past the upright.
46' Do we have a classic final on the cards? Looks like it so far. The second half is underway.
HALF-TIME
What a half of football we've seen! It's almost like we've seen two half of football within the first half. Chennaiyin dominated the first 30 minutes and then it was all Goa. Is this a final or what?
45+1' Thapa plays a dangerous ball in from the free-kick but it's missed everyone. Goa breaths a sigh of relief.
45' Two minutes of added time but more importantly Vineeth wins a free-kick outside the box for Chennaiyin.
44' WHAT A SHOT! Edu Bedia with a strapping shot from distance but Karanjit saves it.
41' A goof-up almost costs Chennaiyin there. Boumous tries to play Saviour Gama but it's a little short. Some miscommunication at the back between Mailson and Dinliana lets Gama still get a shot away but it's wide.
39' This is exatly what we want to see from a final, isn't it? It's suddenly all Goa now and looks like the Sergio Lobera team that we're used to watching.
37' Jackichand's shot goes high! Hugo Boumous with some slick dribbling to weave his way into the box. He passes it to Jacki who scuffs his shot.
36' Goa's on the attack here. They've settled down and are dominating the ball now. They've pushed up the pitch and almost the whole team is in the oppposition half.
34' Goa on the up suddenly! Seriton plays a powerful ball in and Coro can't sort his feet out in time to get a shot away. That's as close as they've come.
33' That seems to cooled things down for a while. It's not as franctic anymore and Goa has been seen more ball and also registers the first shot on target. It's a weak one though.
29' Brandon's free-kick is wasteful. It's straight at Karanjit who grabs it safely. But he's hurt. He seems to have banged his knee on the ground as he went down to catch the ball.
28' It's all Chennaiyin at the moment. Goa almost found a way out through a counter attack but the Chennaiyin defenders deal with it well.
26' WHAT A SAVE! Mohammad Nawaz scrambles across goal to somehow keep out the header from Dhanapal Ganesh. This kid is unbelievable. When you get time, read about him .
Tenth corner of the game and Goa yet to register a shot on target.
25' Close again and another corner! Is this the same Chennaiyin team that finished bottom of the ISL table? Dinliana takes a free-kick and Fall heads it out.
24' Another chance! Nawaz called into action by Eli Sabia's shot from distance. Another corner for Chennaiyin. You can feel the pressure mounting on Goa!
23' SO CLOSE! The closest any team has come and Chennaiyin could have been 1-0 up here but for a block from Mourtada Fall. Oh wait, the shot from Augusto got a touch from CK Vineeth and went over the bar.
21' Sixth corner of the game and fourth for Goa. Brandon whips it in but the referee calls a foul in the box.
20' Augusto is back up. Will that prove to be a risky decision? Chennaiyin has AFC Cup commitments aorund the corner. But some risks are worth taking, I guess?
18' Raphael Augusto has gone down clutching his hamstring. This does not look good for Chennaiyin.
17' That's another corner to Chennaiyin. Nelson steps up to take it. Mailson rises highest and gets his head on it but it comes back off a Goa player. This is where Chennaiyin can hurt Goa.
14' Chennaiyin FC looking strong here other than the rare wayward ball. Goa hasn't yet threatened as much as it would have liked to. Vineeth, meanwhile, is giving Mourtada Fall a bit of trouble at the back. He's going to need more than that to get past the big Senegalese.
12' BIG CHANCE for Chennaiyin FC. Gregory Nelson on the right helps it on to Laldinliana who makes a darting run down the flank and plays a good low ball into the box. Nelson and CK Vineeth rush into the box but it Pena gets it out of the box.
10' Corner to Chennaiyin FC. And Goa seems to be in a spot of bother. Brandon Fernandes is on the receiving end of a tough tackle from Dhanpal Ganesh and is getting some medical help.
9' Ambitious attempt for Raphael Augusto. He finds himself in space and lets one rip from distance, but his grounded attempt whizzes wide the goal. FC Goa's custodian Nawaz has had little to do in the opening minutes.
7' Chance for Coro! The corner comes in and Alves heads it only as far as Corominas, who's right at the edge of the box. The Spaniard manages to get a shot off, but can't find the target. Half a chance this, for the dangerous Corominas.
6' CLOSE! The Chennaiyin defence just manages to clear this stunning FC Goa attack. Boumous plays the architect again as he plays Jacki on the right. The winger loops a cross in, but can't get it past an onrushing Sabia. Corner to Goa!
4' First attempt on goal for FC Goa. Boumous finds Jackichand at the edge of the box and the winger brings it to his right foot to unleash a drive, but it takes a deflection and fails to trouble Karanjit Singh.
2' Edu Bedia plays a wicked ball into the box, but Mailson Alves does well to head it away.
1' Early corner for FC Goa! Sabia takes no chances and clears the ball and Goa now has a set-piece opportunity.
1' KICK OFF!
There are just minutes to kick-off. As we wait, here are a few stories to warm you up before this exciting match-up.
This is how FC Goa and Chennaiyin FC's semifinal macthes went down. It could give you an idea of what to expect from these teams today.
FC Goa reaches final after classy 3-0 win against Chennai City FC
Chennaiyin FC dominates ATK 2-0 to reach final
- FC Goa's Mohammad Nawaz is not as tall as you'd expect a goalkeeper to be, but the 19-year-old has looked a fine find ever since he was promoted to the first team. Our reporter Aashin Prasad writes about his rise at Goa .
- Saviour Gama was thrown into deep waters when he came on for the injured FC Goa captain Mandar Rao Desai during the ISL final against Bengaluru FC. The 21-year-old sees himself starting a final today. Here's his story .
The starting line-ups are out!
Here's our reporter Aashin Prasad's preview of the match.
FC Goa seeks to end title drought against resurgent Chennaiyin FC
Sergio Lobera and John Gregory have come across as coaches of varying philosophies. Lobera, a Spaniard of few words and straight talk, is unwavering in the type of football he wants his team to play under any circumstances. Gregory, on the other hand, speaks at length with a touch of dry wit and is more adaptable in his approach with respect to the personnel at his disposal.
Both men came to these shores around the same time two years back and have enjoyed varying degrees of success in the Indian Super League. Lobera’s FC Goa has enthralled the watching audience with its free-flowing football, scoring goals at will but has come up short twice – a semifinal finish and most recently a loss in the final. Gregory’s well-drilled Chennaiyin FC upset the odds by winning the ISL title last season before collapsing to a last-place finish this year.
The two coaches have another opportunity to better the fate of their respective clubs when they meet in the final of the Super Cup at the Kalinga Stadium in Bhubaneswar on Saturday.
Despite Chennaiyin’s woes in the league, Lobera sensed that the opponent’s 'feelings' from the title-winning season are tangible in its cup run – unbeaten in six matches.
There have been doubts surrounding Goa’s ability to translate its attacking philosophy into trophies but Lobera does not see it that way. “It will be nice to end the season with a trophy. But as a coach, the most important thing I take is the respect and admiration from the fans and the credit which my players get for the football which they play; that's the best trophy we can get," said Lobera.
While Gregory lauded Lobera's efforts during his time in Indian football, he was also pleased with the turnaround his team has staged in the last month. The Englishman was aware the job isn't done yet and conceded that Goa was the overwhelming favourite heading into the final.
Chennaiyin overcame Mumbai City FC, NorthEast United FC and ATK – teams to which it lost twice in the ISL, in the knockout stages of the Super Cup. The team will need another monumental effort to topple the Gaurs, who also did the double over them.
After the success against ATK, Gregory might stick to the 4-2-3-1 formation with two defensively minded midfielders to try and disturb the rhythm in Goa’s play. However, he will have to do so without the suspended Chris Herd. In his absence, Germanpreet Singh may get a look in alongside Dhanpal Ganesh, who is ready for a third start in six days according to the manager.
Dhanpal’s return from injury offers a more balanced look to Chennaiyin with the team conceding just once in over 540 minutes of football.
Midfielder Anirudh Thapa, who has two goals and as many assists in the tournament, has struck form. Chennaiyin coach will be hoping the individual brilliances of Thapa, Raphael Augusto and Gregory Nelson can combine to come good against Goa against the run of play.
Lobera was happy to have his captain Edu Bedia back from suspension but is keen to focus on the collective effort of his men and managing their ‘feelings’ better this time around.
Lobera pointed out that his semifinal opponent Chennai City FC plays a more offensive style than Chennaiyin, which will likely play with two blocks of four off the ball.
Bedia, a straight swap for Hugo Boumous in the number eight role, will be crucial for Goa with his passing through Chennaiyin’s defensive lines to find the forwards Ferran Corominas, Brandon Fernandes and Zaidkrouch. Jackichand Singh’s pace will offer Goa a threat in making the runs in behind Chennaiyin’s defence and counter-attacks.
Goa and Chennaiyin have had some memorable encounters in their brief history in the ISL, notably the thrilling ISL final in 2015. Saturday's show-piece event could very well be on those lines with Goa's skillful attackers seeking a way past Chennaiyin's stubborn defence.
(The match will kick-off at 8:30 pm and will be streamed live on Hotstar.)
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