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In its second year of inception, the European Cup or the now christened UEFA Champions League saw Real Madrid take on Fiorentina at the iconic Santiago Bernebeu stadium in the final. In front of a mammoth 124,000 strong crowd, the defending champions put past Viola in what is the only instance of a team lifting the coveted trophy while playing on their own turf.
Today, some 8,000 kms away, in a completely different footballing ecosystem, another team – FC Goa – had the opportunity of emulating Los Blancos, as they took on Chennaiyin FC in the final of the second edition of the Hero Indian Super League. Albeit in an event which is deemed a lot inferior to the spectacle that the Champions League is, getting to play at home in a final can and should be a massive advantage and the team coached by Brazilian legend Zico fought valiantly till the very end.
Having finished the group stages ranked 1 and 2 in the points table and cruising through their respective semi finals, both teams decided to not tinker much with their starting XIs. Chennaiyin, however, did bring in Bruno Pelissari for Elano Bumer.
Starting XIs
FC Goa: Laxmikant Kattimani, Gregory Arnolin, Lucio, Pronay Halder, Romeo Fernandes, Mandar Rao Dessai, Leo Moura, Bikramjit Singh, Jofre Mateu, Dudu Omagbemi and Rafael Coelho.
Chennaiyin FC: Apoula Edel, Mehrajuddin Wadoo, Bernard Mendy, Mailson Alves, Dhanachandra Singh, Thoi Singh, Manuele Blasi, Harmanjot Khabra, Bruno Pelissari, Jeje Lalpekhlua and John Mendoza.
First Half
While one could argue in favour of the marquee Brazilian’s inclusion, Pelissari shone consistently in the team’s meteoric 5-match unbeaten streak which brought them here and he repaid the coach’s faith soon as he created the first real chance of the game, dribbling past two Goa defenders after receiving Mendoza’s clever back heel. His powerful left footed effort however sailed over the crossbar.
Immediately afterwards the hosts piled up the pressure on the other end, Joffre raced in from the left flank and was brought down by Mehrajuddin Wadoo. Jonathan Luca, who was introduced early because of a head injury suffered by Dudu, took the resultant free-kick but his meek effort was thwarted by Edel Bete.
The Chennaiyin custodian, who alongwith Ethiopian teammate Fikru and Goa’s playmaker Joffre won the ISL title with Atletico de Kolkata last year, however, let Rafael through off Romeo’s long ball and had Brazilian not fluffed what was perhaps the best chance of the half, the hosts would have been 1-0 up going into the breather.
Second Half
As the action unfolded in the second half it was Materazzi’s men who seized the advantage. Stiven Mendoza induced a foul from Prannoy Halder inside the area after 53 minutes and Bruno Pelissari scored off the rebound after the initial spot kick was saved by Laxmikant Kattimani.
There were reports of the gaffer venting his displeasure in the Goa dressing room at the interval for creating few scoring opportunities and Thongkhosiem Haokip was thus introduced in place of Leo Moura as a half-time substitution.
The 22-year-old Manipuri who had thrust himself in to limelight with a hat-trick against Mumbai City FC had been bestowed with 45 minutes to prove his mettle and he did just that, nulling the opener with a composed tap in off Romeo’s cross.
As the capacity crowd went berserk, Mendoza went down in the penalty area again, this time due to a tackle by Kattimani. While the replays suggested little or no contact between the two, referee Yudai Yamamoto pointed to the spot for the second time. This time, the Colombian insisted on taking it himself. His low shot was valiantly saved by the local custodian, though.
Chennaiyin suddenly seemed rattled and they rung in the changes in an effort to turn it around. Elano and Jayesh Rane were introduced in place of Pelissari and Jeje. Buoyed by the Kattimani’s saves, the spirited hosts had momentum by their side and they soon created another chance when Romeo played Rafael through whose inviting cross saw Haokip's shot being saved by Edel.
Soon they were awarded a free kick right outside the box and Spanish recruit Joffre slid in a brilliant left-footer to hand Goa the advantage. Resembling the proverbial sine curve, this match swayed soon again, and this time for the decisive.
First Wadoo’s looping ball crept past the line after Kattimani’s attempt at punching it out went wrong. Then, within seconds, Stiven Mendoza capped off his extraordinary season by slotting home the winner after receiving Jayesh Rane’s cross from the left wing.
The home crowd was stunned, and the players on field charged the referee as he blew the whistle. The dream had been shattered, a spirited campaign had been bogged down by an indecisive minute. Perhaps the ugliness could have been avoided but then the Gaurs fought hard and long. It just wasn't their night though.
Substitutions
9’ Jonathan Luca for Dudu
46’ Thongkhosiem Haokip for Leonardo Moura
67’ Elano for Bruno Pelissari
68’ Jayesh Rane for Jeje
94’ Luciano Sabrosa for Bikramjit Singh
Bookings
18’ Mehrajuddin Wadoo
57’ Thoi Singh
60’ Gregory Arnolin
94’ Stiven Mendoza
