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Chennaiyin FC shook off their Indian Super League 2018-19 disappointment as they reached the Hero Super Cup final, beating ATK 2-0 at the Kalinga Stadium in Bhubaneswar on Wednesday.
The result was a morale booster for Chennaiyin who finished last in the ISL, even after winning the title last season, and were the only side not to touch double-digit points this season. Moreover, they faced ATK in the semi-final after losing against them twice in the ISL this season.
Both the goals came in the second half. CK Vineeth opened the scoring with a header after getting an inch-perfect cross from Anirudh Thapa. Thapa later put his name on the score-sheet with a fabulous counter-attack that left ATK defenders befuddled.
Chennaiyin will face the Sergio Lobera-coached FC Goa in the Super Cup final on Saturday, in what will be their toughest test this season.
Let us look at the talking points of the game
#5 Disappointing first half for both the teams
Both ATK and Chennaiyin FC have won the ISL twice. So, when they met against each other in the Super Cup semi-final, lot of actions and firepower was expected. Of course, ATK had the upper hand as they have beaten Chennaiyin FC both time in this season’s ISL, but all Chennaiyin were playing was to save their pride.
It wasn’t an interesting first half where both the teams made countless mistakes. To point out Chennaiyin first, they had most of the possession and were controlling the game from the first minute. Yet there was not enough desire to score. Crosses were coming in from either side but there was no one who could convert it into a goal. They were losing balls in the attacking third and were doing all the familiar things that ruined their season.
ATK, on the other hand, proved why they finished sixth in this season’s ISL. There was not a single move that could’ve brought any danger to their opponent. Chennaiyin defenders didn’t sweat much to keep the ATK attackers away.
In all, it was a frustrating first half for football lovers.
#4 Poor defending from ATK cost them the match
Despite signing John Johnson from Bengaluru FC and Andre Bikey from Jamshedpur FC at the start of the season, ATK have never looked quite a confident side when it comes to defending. In ISL, they have conceded goals which were entirely due to mistakes from the defenders. In Super Cup also, there were no signs of improvement.
Both the goals they have conceded in the match was due to glaring mistakes from their defenders. On the first occasion, Anirudh Thapa made a mockery of Johnson and got past Pritam Kotal as well to put a cross in the box, which was eventually met CK Vineeth to break the deadlock.
Just eight minutes later, almost all the ATK defenders were caught off-guard when Chennaiyin made the counter-attack. At least three Chennaiyin players were rushing towards the box and finally, Thapa scored with his left foot after getting an inch-perfect pass from Raphael Augusto.
Now as their season gets over, ATK would surely try to repair their defensive line-up by acquiring the service of some good names.
#3 Garcia and Balwant flopped as ATK lacked penetration in the attacking third
ATK have scored the least number of goals in the ISL season 5 and one of the main reasons was the absence of any positive striker in their line-up. Although the signing of Edu Garcia brought about some improvement, that was not enough to meet the requirements.
ATK started off Super Cup campaign brilliantly and scored seven goals, same with FC Goa, before coming into the semi-finals against Chennaiyin. However, old habits die hard. They lacked penetration in the attacking third as Chennaiyin swiftly used the chances that came towards them.
Balwant Singh scored a hat-trick in the last match against Delhi Dynamos, but against Chennaiyin FC, it was hard to find him on the pitch. On a couple of occasions, when he got the ball, it was snatched away by Chennaiyin FC defenders. He was tightly marked and never allowed a space to operate.
Garcia was carrying a niggle from the last match and the usual trickery was missing from his game. He didn’t take a single shot on goals and was deservingly substituted early in the second half. Manuel Lanzarote was the only one who tried to make a mark but he was the lone warrior who didn’t have the support from his teammates.
#2 Anirudh Thapa showed his talent at the right time
One of the best gifts that ISL has given to Indian football is surely Anirudh Thapa. The young boy from Uttarakhand rose to prominence and earned his national cap while playing for Chennaiyin FC and on Wednesday, he showed why he could be the next star for the national team.
Even though Chennaiyin could not replicate their success in this season’s ISL, Thapa has caught the attention with his hard-work and commitment. He was always there when Chennaiyin needed him and the game against ATK was a perfect example of this.
He didn’t look good in the first half while operating on the central midfield. But in the second half, he was moved to the left, ahead of Jerry Lalrinzuala and that yielded results for his side. His skills in the ATK box left John Johnson stumbled before the first goal. The youngster then got his name on the score-sheet, deservingly when he got the pass from Augusto.
#1 Deserving victory for Chennaiyin
They may have had a disappointing season in the ISL, but all is not over for Chennaiyin. The two-time ISL champions still have the desire to win a trophy and on Wednesday why they should never be written off. They still have a chance to win a trophy when facing FC Goa in the Super Cup final and may still something bigger in the AFC Cup if they progress from the group stage.
Hard-work and commitment were the two things that were missing from this Chennaiyin side when they played in the ISL. But credit should be given to coach John Gregory for turning the fortunes of the team within such a short time. The hunger and desire to win a trophy is back and Chennaiyin are surely ready to take on any side they would face.
Be it captain Mailson Alves, old guards Gregory Nelson or Raphael Augusto, or newly signed CK Vineeth – all of them showed they mean business after kicking off the proceedings on Wednesday. Chennaiyin early ascendancy in the match put ATK on the back foot, which they never recovered in the entire match.
Chennaiyin would face the toughest test when they face an in-form FC Goa in the Super Cup final but Sergio Lobera would have to scratch his head more often to stop this Chennaiyin side.
Note: All the pictures are taken from the Super Cup official website.
