ISL Final: FC Goa vs Chennaiyin FC

First Wadoo’s looping ball went through Kattimani and Prannoy Halder and 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 audience 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!

Buoyed by the Kattimani’s saves, the spirited hosts had momentum by their side and they soon created another chance- 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.

As the capacity crowd went berserk here, 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.

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 Pelissari scored off the rebound after the initial spot kick was saved by Laxmikant Kattimani.

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 freekick 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 in to the breather.

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. While one could argue in favour of the marquee Brazilian’s inclusion, Pelissari shone consistently in the team’s meteoric 5-match unbeaten 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.

And that's it! @ChennaiyinFC are the champions of the @IndSuperLeague as @FCGoaOfficial were left heart-broken!
— Sportskeeda (@Sportskeeda) December 20, 2015

And @ChennaiyinFC have won the #HeroISL final. They are #TheNewKings as they win a thriller! #LetsFootball pic.twitter.com/Q3KlsMXep9
— Indian Super League (@IndSuperLeague) December 20, 2015

The Super Machans are #TheNewKings! Congratulations to @ChennaiyinFC for winning the #HeroISL Season 2 trophy! pic.twitter.com/MokP8VpupR
— Star Sports Football (@StarFootball) December 20, 2015

Congratulations to Chennaiyin FC!

The referee blows the full-time whistle as Chennaiyin FC are the new ISL champions!

Bikramjit Singh comes off for Luciano Sabrosa.

The stadium is all quite as the home fans are dissapointed! Three goals in just 4 minutes. Just the final we needed.

+5 minutes of added time.

90' GOOOAL! Mendoza puts it past Kattimani as he scores the winner. What a final!

89' 2-2! What a match! Mendoza equalises following a beauty of a free-kick from Jofre.

87' FC Goa score from the free-kick! Jofre with a stunning strike!

The moment @FCGoa came back into the @IndSuperLeague final as Haokip equalised for the home team @StarSportsIndia pic.twitter.com/6j7WdFj8BT
— Sportskeeda (@Sportskeeda) December 20, 2015

81' Chennaiyin players seem to be content with just keeping the ball to themselves for now.

Final 10 minutes of the match. Can either of the two sides find a winner?

Kattimani lets Mendoza know exactly what he thought of his penalty after saving it @IndSuperLeague @StarSportsIndia pic.twitter.com/q9Q3UWjwFV
— Sportskeeda (@Sportskeeda) December 20, 2015

Two goals, two penalty saves! And all to play for with less than 20 minutes remaining. #TheNewKings. #LetsFootball. pic.twitter.com/axmtnwSojn
— Indian Super League (@IndSuperLeague) December 20, 2015

75' Brilliant reaction from Edel who keeps out Haokip's shot from a very close range following an amazing cross by Rafael.

73' Lucio keeps out the Chennaiyin FC attack as Haokip fails to get a shot inside the box.

2 saved pens from Kattimani! 👌🏼 Could it be his day?? #ISLGrandFinal @IndSuperLeague
— Iain Hume (@Humey_7) December 20, 2015

71' Jofre skips past Chennaiyin FC defenders with twists and turns, but his final shot goes straight to Edel's hands.

70' Edel gets to the ball first as Mandar's cross inside the box is intercepted.

68' Elano's free-kick is deflected away for a corner.

Trivia: @ChennaiyinFC have received most yellow cards in the tournament so far. #HPELetsTransform
— Sportskeeda (@Sportskeeda) December 20, 2015

67' Substitution for Chennai as Elano replaces Bruno. He isn't very happy. Jayesh has also been brought on for Jeje.

64' Gregory misses his chance to give FC Goa the lead! His bicycle kick attempt went past Edel and the net.

69' BLOCKED! Mendoza's penalty is saved by Kattimani who dived on the left side of the net to keep the shot out.

59' PENALTY AGAINST FC GOA! Mendoza goes down following a challenge from the goalkeeper. The referee issues a yellow for Gregory for appealing against the decision.

57' FC Goa equalise in just 5 minutes! Haokip with the goal who put it past Edel following a brilliant pass from Romeo Fernandes.

53' GOOOAL! Pelissari's first shot is saved by Kattimani but he manages to put it inside the box off the rebound.

51' PENALTY against Chennaiyin! Mendoza is brought down inside the box by Pronay Halder. Poor challenge. Pelissari to take it.

The passion is running high & @imVkohli is no exception. Do we have some drama on the cards tonight? #TheNewKings pic.twitter.com/iX768M3K59
— Indian Super League (@IndSuperLeague) December 20, 2015

The second half is underway. Thaokip replaces FC Goa's Leo Moura.

HT: FC Goa 0-0 Chennaiyin FC.

45' Wadoo who is on a yellow card brings Jofre down but escapes any punishment. He needs to be careful in the second half. Two minutes of additional time allotted.

Trivia: @FCGoaOfficial have 11 different goal scorers, the most by any team in ISL season. #HPELetsTransform
— Sportskeeda (@Sportskeeda) December 20, 2015

42' Bikramjit Singh is challenged by Dhanachandra near the sidelines. However, the referee refuses to stop play despite Zico's request.

37' Kattimani keeps out Mendoza's shot. Another corner for Chennaiyin, but nothing comes of it as the delivery is headed away.

36' FC Goa players look comfortable with the ball so far, holding it on for the right chances. Chennaiyin defenders have been solid so far, but if Marco's men are to salvage anything from the match, they need to step it up.

32' Leo Moura's free-kick is blocked by the wall. Corner to FC Goa.

30' Poor delivery from Jofre from the corner. But, they win a free-kick in a dangerous area following a foul from Chennai player.

23' Moura goes down inside the box but the referee refuses to give away a penalty. Play continues.

23' Mendoza finds Pelissari with a through ball close to the 18-yard box but he is brought down by Lucio which looked pretty much like a dive.

21' Romeo tries to find his teammate inside the penalty box with a whipped cross, but Edel gets to first.

19' Mendoza asks for a penalty after going down inside the box, but Kattimani shoves him away. The referee fails to see it.