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A better and more offensive Chennaiyin side register a comfortable 0-2 win over ATK to book a date with FC Goa in the Final on 13th April in a 2015 Indian Super League final repeat.
Chennaiyin FC looked the better side all throughout the game with larger share of possession and more shots on goal, doing justice to the scoreline. As for ATK, they did not just really fire tonight and were scrappy throughout the 90 minutes.
Stay tuned to Sportskeeda for further Super Cup and Indian Football updates. This is Sayak Dipta Dey (@sayakdd28), signing off for now. Thank You and Good Night.
83' End to End stuff here in Bhubaneshwar, Ankit Mukherjee plays Eugeneson on who delivers in a cross from the left towards Santos but Eli Sabia clears the danger.
80' Ankit Mukherjee shoots after the ball falls on to him from the corner, but Karanjeet saves. The rebound falls to an ATK shirt again, who goes for goal, first time but the shot is rebounded off a crowd of players in the Chennaiyin box.
79' SAVE! Eugeneson with belter of a shot distance, takes a deflection of Thapa's boots and was going into the top-right corner but Karanjeet Singh pulls off a brilliant acrobatic save to parry the shot away.
67' ATK have upped the intensity of their moves up the pitch to atleast pull one back but are not being able to create much of a chances, courtesy a very resolute Chennaiyin defence.
58' GOAL! Gregory Nelson plays Thapa through on goal who finishes it off with an accurate shot to the left of a hapless Debjit Majumdar to double Chennaiyin's lead.
52' SAVE! Manuel Lanzarote with a shot from distance, forcing Karanjeet to dive to his left and punch it away. The Chennaiyin shot-stopper injures himself in the process and is being assisted by the Physios.
50' GOAL! Anirudh Thapa displays some exquisite trickery with the ball to lob the ball over Johnson and Kotal from the left to find Vineeth who heads in past Debjit Majumdar to get Chennaiyin into the lead.
49' Mailson Alves spots Debjit Majumdar off his line and goes for a spectacular effort from the half-line. Majumdar is forced to track back and fist the ball over the goal. The resultant corner from Renthlei goes out of play for an ATK goal-kick.
A cagey first half marred with numerous half chances but seldom any clear cut chances except the Gregory Nelson and Dhanpal Ganesh ones which ATK did manage to survive. Chennaiyin FC have been a notch better with their passing and play upfront, both at the end of the 45 minutes, it is all-square. Time for Plan B for both the sides?
42' Christopher Herd booked by the referee after he smacks Manuel Lanzarote on his face during an altercation. Lanzarote walks away from the field, holding his face.
37' Perfect ball from Dhanpal Ganesh to find Anirudh Thapa on the far post but the youngster got his feet tangled up and ran the ball away for an ATK goal-kick. All he needed to do was go for the shot first time or play CK Vineeth who was just lurking along side him. Poor touch by Thapa there.
28' Raphael Augusto goes past couple of defenders, looks for space and shoots, takes a deflection and goes up into the sky to be punched away by Debjit Majumdar while CK Vineeth goes for a header, but is flagged offside.
22'Manuel Lanzarote sets up Jayesh Rane on a plate to shoot first time in Chennaiyin's box but he takes too much time to sort his feet, allowing Alves and Sebia to clear the danger.
19' ATK concede possession cheaply as Chennaiyin FC get the ball back in a dangerous area but John Johnson intervenes and bails the Kolkata side from imminent danger.
17' A cross from Jerry Lalrinzuala is punched away by Debjit Majumdar but results in an injury to Anirudh Thapa after ATK goalie banged on to him. Team Physio on the pitch to get Thapa up on his feet.
14' Gregory Nelson swings in a inch-perfect corner to the far post from the left corner towards Dhanpal Ganesh who fails to make a contact with the ball by a whisker. Looked like the Southerner was pulled back, however ATK manages to escape another scare. A good chance to score after a while as the game turned slightly cagey.
7' MISS! Brilliant low ball from the left flank from Jerry Lalrinzuala towards CK Vineeth, who manages to get away from his marker and get a footing on to the incoming ball but the end result is a wide attempt. That was close.
5' Quick give and go between Jayesh Rane and Balwant Singh which leaves the Chennaiyin defence stranded, the ball ends up with Lanzarote outside the box who tries to curl it in the far corner, but the shot is well wide of the target.
2' Gregory Nelson and Christopher Herd get couple of balls in from either flanks in quick succession, hoping to get a Blue shirt at the end of it but Ricky and Bikey thwart both the lurking balls away respectively.
Talking about Pronay Haldar's absence, Coppell said, "He has been terrific in the two games we have played so far. Given the unique nature of this competition this year, there could have been a different interpretation of the bookings rule. But having said that, if you commit an action which the referee sees to be a questionable foul, then you have to be punished. But it becomes an even hollower competition if star players are not available on either side to play the semi-final or the final."
John Gregory showered praise on the ATK team and reiterated how difficult it is to break down a Steve Coppell-coached outfit. "I’ve said this before; Coppell's teams are very difficult to break down. They played well against Delhi Dynamos, with our former player Balwant Singh scoring a hat-trick. (Manuel) Lanzarote is always a danger as well. We will try to keep him quiet," he said.
Hello and Welcome to Sportskeeda's LIVE coverage of the Super Cup second semi-final between ATK and Chennaiyin FC. This is your host, Sayak who will keep you company throughout the next two hours or so.
After two back to wins on the trot, ATK and Chennaiyin FC would like to one step further to register their maiden place in the Super Cup Final as they lock horns in the second semi-final of the cup. The semi-final also comes up a perfect opportunity to redeem themselves for this season after a disastrous Indian Super League campaign for both of them. Chennaiyin FC finished bottom of the ladder in the League while ATK finished sixth.
Both teams have had a swing in their form and fortune for different reasons. Chennaiyin FC have had a more sturdier defense in the two Cup games they featured in. Mailson Alves has been rock solid at the back. Anirudh Thapa and Jeje Lalpekhlua have got their form back and are being regulars on the scoresheet, much to John Gregory's relief. The Blues defeated the Highlanders 2-1 and the Islanders 2-0 in the run up to the semi-final.
ATK also have had a similar bettering of form. With the likes of Lanzarote, Edu Garcia and Everton Santos at the back, they are a side to be wary of. ATK's midfield has been successfully complimenting it's forward line by creating numerous chances for Balwant Singh and co. The Red and Whites defeated Dynamos 4-3 in an exhilarating encounter and eased past Real Kashmir by 3-1 in the previous rounds.
The game is expected to be a toughly fought contest with possibility of any team going up to the final.
The game will be LIVE on Star Sports 3, hotstar and JIO TV at 8:30 PM IST from the Kalinga Stadium in Bhubaneshwar. Sportskeeda will bring all the LIVE updates on the Live Blog as well.
A better and more offensive Chennaiyin side register a comfortable 0-2 win over ATK to book a date with FC Goa in the Final on 13th April in a 2015 Indian Super League final repeat.
Chennaiyin FC looked the better side all throughout the game with larger share of possession and more shots on goal, doing justice to the scoreline. As for ATK, they did not just really fire tonight and were scrappy throughout the 90 minutes.
Stay tuned to Sportskeeda for further Super Cup and Indian Football updates. This is Sayak Dipta Dey (@sayakdd28), signing off for now. Thank You and Good Night.