FT| The referee has a look at his watch and there is the final whistle. It has finished 2-1 in favor of Chennaiyin FC. Eelco Schattorie and his injury-laden squad did their best but they fall short in the end. Chennaiyin FC will now look forward to ATK's challenge in their clash at the semi-finals.
90+1' Anirudh Thapa is bestowed the Hero of the Match award for his assist and a goal which has made all the difference in what has been a tightly contested affair.
89' Chennaiyin FC have the ball in the attacking third but they are taking their own sweet time by playing the ball near the byline to see out the time.
87' CHANCE! That could have been easily an own goal. Palacios tries to give it backward to the goalkeeper Gurmeet Singh but he fails to get hold of it and the ball goes out for a corner kick. The replays show that Gurmeet got a hand to it from outside the box but the referee and his assistant missed it completely.
83' SHOT! A brilliant one-two between Girik Khosla and Mascia and the former sends in a grounder. The Chennaiyin FC defense is in shambles and Rowllin Borges takes a shot from the penalty spot. However, Mailson Alves puts his body on the line to forge a solid block. The goalkeeper was beaten completely.
82' Ogbeche gives a beautiful pass to Keegan on the overlap but he loses the ball to Dinliana and Chennaiyin FC gets the ball cleared. NEUFC have to build the attack from the scratch again.
75' SHOT! And, Mascia again hits the woodwork. Puitea with a brilliant corner-kick and Rowllin Borges connects it. He lays it off for Mascia in the far post and his header glazes the crossbar.
70' And, Christopher Herd gets a yellow card. The Australian sweeps Girik Khosla's feet but doesn't get the ball. He is not even complaining for the yellow card.
69' SHOT! Rowllin Borges spots Girik Khosla's run and sends a forty-yard grounding diagonal pass. The Punjabi lad takes a shot as there is no NEUFC player to pass it through. But, the shot only hits the side-netting.
67' NEUFC have the ball possession in their favor with 57-43. However, Chennaiyin FC have the vital statistic in their favor. They are leading 2-1 and won't mind losing the possession battle.
66' SHOT! What a battle we have between Girik Khosla and Tondonba Singh. Christopher Herd's clearance only goes as far as the Punjabi lad who unleashes a first-time shot. It is on target but Tondonba Singh gets his feet in the way to see out the danger momentarily for a corner kick.
63' NEUFC are enjoying acres of possession as Chennaiyin have sacrificed any attempt to win it. However, they are composed on the back and the Highlanders are finding it tough to break down the attack.
61! WOODWORK! Girik Khosla goes past his man down the right wing and this time, he beats Tondonba. He lays it off for Mascia but he puts in too much power and the ball hits the woodwork.
60' TACKLE! What a tackle from Tondonba Singh and what a game he is having! Girik Khosla tries to turn through him but the Manipuri lad has the last laugh.
57' Anirudh Thapa is again on the ground. The NEUFC players have marked the 21-year-old who has wreacked havoc for them. The replays show that Palacios took him down from the blindside and he is lucky not to see yellow. It has been around a minute since the Indian international has been down and that is not good news for Chennaiyin FC fans.
55' SHOT! Keegan Pereira with a dangerous cross from the left wing and tries to find Girik Khosla but a brilliant track back from Tondonba Singh sees the ball out for a corner kick.
53' And now, Rowllin Borges brings down Gregory Nelson to halt their movement. The fouls are slowing down the pace of the game, otherwise it has been very a pleasing second half to watch.
47' A slight change in formation for NEUFC. Leudo drops down in the heart of the defense and Keegan moves to the left. Shouvik moves up in the midfield.
45+2' PEEP! PEEP! Santosh Kumar blows his half-time whistle. And, Chennaiyin FC go into the tunnel with their noses up front. Anirudh Thapa has been sensational in the first half, bagging an assist and a goal. Possessions favor NEUFC 53-47 but they need to put in lots of effort in the second half if they want something positive from this game.
45' SHOT! How did Puitea miss that? Triadis with a brilliant low ball and Mailson's clearance goes only for Puitea in the penalty box. From that sort of distance, he should have atleast troubled the goalkeeper but his shot is off target from the point blank range.
43' CHANCE! Anirudh Thapa again wins the ball in the opposition half and gives it to Gregory Nelson. The Dutchman tries to find Jeje but Palacios clears the danger.
41' SHOT! And finally Panagiotis Triadis sees the ball. In the first move NEUFC make through the left wing, he takes a shot but it flies above for goal-kick.
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