Stay tuned to Sportskeeda for the live coverage and commentary of the play-off fixtures. With the way the Top 4 teams have played, some mouth-watering clashes are on the cards. Until then, its a warm good-bye.
Here after, it will be time for the all-important play-offs where league form goes out of the window. The knock-out stage gives equal opportunity to each team and it will be interesting to see which team lifts the title on March 14.
After the visitors got a couple of chances in the first few minutes, it was NorthEast United who dominated the majority of the second half. They also got due rewards for their display as Martin Chaves earned them the lead with a stunning volley in the 71st minute. The hosts looked good to see out the game or even extend their lead until Redeem Tlang's failure to clear the ball helped Lallianzuala Chhangte score and finish the match with a 2-2 scoreline. That brings an end to an entertaining second half of the final league match of the season.
90+3' GOOOOOAAAAAAAL! It is Chhangte's fifth goal of the season. Absolutely unneccesary from NorthEast as Redeem Tlang's missed clearance gifted Chennaiyin an opportunity to come up with one attacking foray. Lallianzuala Chhangte converts the chance with superb shot from the edge of the box to help Chennaiyin get the equaliser.
90' Mazy run from Milan Singh is followed by a through ball which was aimed for Redeem Tlang but Karanjit Singh came to Chennaiyin's rescue once again. However, the move was still not diffused as Martin Chaves with up with a long-range shot. Deepak Tangri did well to be on the goal-line and bring an end to NorthEast's efforts to extend their lead.
89' Apuia with a clever ball to release Martin Chaves into space but Karanjit was alert enough to race out of the box and the head ball away from danger.
86' Half-chance for Martin Chaves as he had a chance to make it a one-on-one opportunity against Deepak Tangri. But the Uruguayan took a decision of going for a delicate chip over Karanjit Singh. The ball only sails way over the goal-post.
79' Martin Chaves is down injured. Decent cross from Milan Singh behind the back-line with Martin Chaves rushing in just as Karanjit Singh was trying to punch the ball. Eventually, Karanjit came unharmed after the duel but Chaves is down for the count.
77' Almost another handy chance for the home side as Ninthoi sent in a good cross to the far post where Martin Chaves was lurking around. The Uruguayan tried his best to control the ball with a jump he had crucially lost his footing. NorthEast are looking good here.
71' GOOOOOLLAAAAAAZZZZZO from Martin Chaves! Chennaiyin failed to clear the corner and this lets Milan Singh to come up with a cross from the second-phase move. The cross was cushioned out by Nim Dorjee following which Chaves executed the sweetest of volleys. Amazing strike into the top-right corner and Karanjit Singh had no chance of stopping that.
65' So close for Apuia in scoring a spectacular goal. Initially, Milan Singh undid all his hard-work by getting past Thoi Singh to only deliver a overcooked cross. But, the impressive Apuia almost helped his side gain the lead with a long-range effort. It wasn't far away as the ball just swung away from the post at the last moment.
59' Two consecutive crunching tackles from Deepak Tangri. NorthEast continue with their strategy of using Jose Leudo to supply long diagonals and this time Redeem Tlang took the ball under control and tried to advance by using the touchline. But center-back Deepak Tangri was alert to the danger to come up with two tackles, first to stop Tlang and then another once against Martin Chaves.
56' Anirudh Thapa redeemed himself in the same move there as he followed by a poor free-kick by tracking back to cut off Ninthoi's dangerous run on the counter-attack.
53' Interesting attacking play from NorthEast United. First, Apuia's ball to the left flank was well received by Redeem Tlang but the winger hesitated while taking a shot and the move fizzled away. However, Tlang kept the ball before passing it to Rakesh Pradhan. The full-back came up with a shot but it was straight at Karanjit Singh.
47' Nice link-up play between Masih Saighani, Germanpreet Singh and Anirudh Thapa but the latter was just unable to get on the end of a pass. The mid-fielder was eventually blocked away from the ball.
The visitors would be pretty unhappy to go in with this scoreline as they had looked the more assured side for the majority of the first half. Chennaiyin opened the scoring in the 17th minute following a throw-in as the home side continued to cause trouble for themselves with poor clearances. Going forward too, NorthEast didn't have much going their way until the 43rd minute when Tondonba Singh's clumsy defending saw the referee Pranjal Bannerjee giving him a red-card and also a penalty for the hosts. Uruguayan Martin Chaves duly converted the penalty to give his team a chance of finishing the season on a positive note.
43' GOOOOAAAAAAL! Its the equaliser for NorthEast United! Calm and composed, the 21-year-old Martin Chaves scores the penalty to get his second goal of the season. Chaves cleverly waited for Karanjit Singh to dive to the left before slotting his penalty to the opposite side.
41' Double-trouble for Chennaiyin FC. Tondonba Singh has brought down Ninthoi and Pranjal Bannerjee has given the marching orders for Chennaiyin FC's left-back. Penalty for the hosts. NorthEast United's best chances have come through Jose Leudo's long diagonals into the box and it is the same once again. The right-winger Ninthoi got on the end of Leudo's ball but Tondonba had just pulled back the NorthEast player inside the box.
39' Good chipped ball pass over the Chennaiyin FC defense from Redeem Tlang but the ball has too much pace and this helps Karanjit Singh to let it run out of play.
38' Clever long ball from Anirudh Thapa as he quickly releases the ball down the line for Rahim Ali to chase. The striker is the first to get to the ball but NorthEast organize themselves in time.
35' Interesting duel between Wayne Vaz and Rahim Ali who is leading the line for Chennaiyin FC. The NorthEast defender seems intent on bringing down Rahim at every given opportunity and Chennaiyin earn a free-kick because of yet another foul.
30' Chaos in the NorthEast United FC box as Wayne Vaz and Nim Dorjee play the ball to themselves while trying to clear the danger. Eventually, the ball fell to Anirudh Thapa but NorthEast's captain Jose Leudo came up with a timely sliding tackle. The hosts are creating trouble for themselves.
29' Corner for Chennaiyin FC. Quite a lot of space behind NorthEast United's back-line but right-back Remi could only earn a corner after finding the first defender with his low cross.
28' Harmless shot from Germanpreet Singh. Although the shot wasn't great, Germanpreet along with Dhanpal Ganesh are causing a lot of trouble for Lalengmawia and Ninthoi.
19' Unlucky for NorthEast United and Lalengmawia as the referee Pranjal Bannerjee refuses to award a penalty. The young NEUFC mid-fielder Lalengmawia got himself behind Chennaiyin's back-line and tried to turn before taking a shot with his favoured right foot. In the meantime, Edwin Sydney had brought the youngster down while trying to execute the turn. After looking at the replays, it does look like the hosts should have got a penalty.
17' GOOOOOOOAAAAAAL for Chennaiyin FC! NorthEast had failed to clear the ball on so many occasions in the last two three-minutes and they have been made to pay for that now. A throw-in for Chennaiyin FC near the corner-flag resulted in a few exchanges between players from both sides before the ball fell to Masih Saighani who was lurking around in the box. Saighani took a quick snap-shot and the ball lands in the back of the net after taking a deflection off Soram Poirei's hands.
12' What a tackle from Masih Saighani! Ninthoi was almost through on goal but the Afghan defender got in a crucial tackle to avert the danger. The hosts are creating a few chances here.
9' Cracking diagonal ball from Jose Leudo to Ninthoi who had a lot of space to work with. The former Indian Arrows player did pretty well to cut the ball back but Martin Chaves' attempted shot was blocked by Dhanpal Ganesh.
7' Referee Pranjal Banerjee has blown the whistle for a free-kick in Chennaiyin's half. Afghan defender Masih Saighani was the guilty party there. However, the home side fail to make any use of that free-kick as Milan Singh overcooked his delivery.
1' Quick start from NorthEast United. The energetic Martin Chaves made a typically robust run down the right-hand side of the pitch before slipping in a through ball to Milan Singh. The Indian mid-fielder took a pretty decent shot after receiving the ball but it is straight at Karanjit Singh.
Chennaiyin FC (Playing XI): Karanjit Singh (GK/C), Tondonba Singh, Masih Saighani, Deepak Tangri, Remi, Edwin Vanspaul, Anirudh Thapa, Dhanpal Ganesh, Germanpreet Singh, Thoi Singh, Rahim Ali.
As promised, Chennaiyin's gaffer Owen Coyle has made nine changes to his team's starting line-up. Karanjit Singh, who was retained in a player-cum goalkeeping coach role will play his first game of the season as Chennaiyin's captain. There is also a ISL debut for young Remi with Chennaiyin FC featuring ten Indian players for the first time in their history.
NorthEast United FC (Playing XI): Soram Poirei (GK), Wayne Vaz, Reagan Singh, Nim Dorjee, Rakesh Pradhan, Jose Leudo (C), Milan Singh, Redeem Tlang, Lalengmawia, Ninthoi, Martin Chaves.
With skipper Federico Gallego suspended for this match, Khalid Jamil has been forced to make as many as five changes to the team that took on Hyderabad FC. Jose Leudo, Redeem Tlang, Wayne Vaz and Rakesh Pradhan who all missed the last game due to suspensions are part of the five players that return to the team.
At the pre-match press conference, Chennaiyin head coach Owen Coyle confirmed that there will be quite a few changes to his team's starting line-up for this match. “Firstly, we want to win the game. With that being said, we will not go in with a lot of the boys who played in Mumbai match because we have a few players on three yellow cards. So, it would be naïve to risk them picking up a yellow (and getting suspended for the semis). But the boys who will play against NorthEast will give their everything. We have prepared for this like we do for any game. For me, there will be changes but we will definitely go for the win. It’ll be an opportunity for lot of the young players to show what they can do in the Hero ISL” Coyle said.
The Scotsman also showered praise on the players for his team's turn-around. Coyle noted, “I had to find a formula to win games because one point from matches wasn’t going to be enough. The players have been terrific since day one and they have the quality. I like to think we have a strong mentality right now because we had to quickly evaluate the players and find the winning formula, and we did that. The players are sometimes not given due credit. I am really pleased with my players. We had a number of injuries, but we showed real character and desire and that, for me, was pleasing.”
At the pre-match press conference, NorthEast’s interim head coach Khalid Jamil said that his team will play for pride and also added that they will need their fans' support to get a positive result. “This is our last match of the season and we need the fans’ support for it. Everyone will try to give their best to try and end the season on a winning note,” Jamil said.
Jamil was also impressed by the number of young players who have made their debut this season and impressed everyone. He said, “It’s good that the youngsters are playing more. Gaining experience is important for any player. Indian players have been doing well this season. A lot of good young talents have come to the fore, both from our team and other sides. It’s a good thing for Indian football.”
Well well, what a turnaround it has been for Chennaiyin FC after Owen Coyle took over the team. After struggling for goals during the start of the season, Coyle's appointment as the new manager in the first week of December has resulted in Chennaiyin FC securing an incredible 26 points out of an available 36. The team has especially been on form on the offense as they have scored 29 goals in the last twelve games. The men who have resulted in this comeback are surely striker Nerijus Valskis and mid-fielder Rafael Crivellaro. The duo have amazingly combined to register 20 goals and 11 assists.
Even an optimistic Coyle wouldn't have expected that his team would make the play-offs with one game to spare. In fact, the 2-time ISL Champions could even leapfrog Bengaluru FC to the third spot if they defeat NorthEast United FC today.
It is time for the final league match of the season between NorthEast United vs Chennaiyin FC in Guwahati. It has been a tale of two halves for these teams. With the play-off teams confirmed now, no one would believe that NorthEast United were the side who seemed to have better odds of making it to the Top 4 at the half-way stage in the season.
Unfortunately, an injury which ruled out the legendary Asamoah Gyan and a few other suspensions threw their campaign off track. Apart from these issues, the need to reschedule some of NorthEast United's home games also hampered their momentum. In fact, this match against Chennaiyin FC was supposed to be played way back in December. A poor run of results in the last few games also saw the NEUFC top management sacking manager Robert Jarni. If this wasn't enough, a weakened NorthEast team lost by a 5-1 margin against Hyderabad FC in the previous game. This final fixture of the season gives an opportunity for the home side to finish a rather disappointing season with a consolation win.
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