11.00 pm:
ISL 2018-’19 CHAMPIONS: BFC!
Bengaluru FC have made it six major trophies in six years. What a team, what a story. Well deserved winners!
That’s it from us tonight, stay tuned for report and analysis over the next few hours. Hope you enjoyed our coverage.
10.54 pm: Lovely touch by BFC. A guard of honour for the runners-up as the Goa players come up to collect their runners-up medals. Good to see, after a hard-fought final.
10.44 pm:
Best pitch: Kerala Blasters
Golden glove: Gurpreet Singh (BFC)
Golden boot: Ferran Corominas (Goa)
Emerging player of the year: Kerala Blaster’s Sahal
10.40 pm: What a record this is for BFC!
10.37 pm: We are now waiting for the trophy presentation.
10.33 pm: Rahul Bheke is the player of the match for his brilliant header that won the match for BFC. “Great feeling for me. A memorable moment. Our fans are the best, they are always there home and away backing us,” he says.
22.28: Time for post-match presentation.
22.25 pm: “COME ON BFC!” yells out Sunil Chhetri, climbed upon the shoulders of Gurpreet Singh. He is one happy man! “Credit to Rahul, Bombay boy scoring in Bombay,” says Gurpreet.
22.23: Tears of joy for BFC fans. They celebrate their first ISL title. Tears of despair for Goa players. They falter at the final hurdle again after a great season. And Rahul Bheke is the man who will grab the headlines.
Full-time: Bengaluru win ISL 2019 Bengaluru players rush onto the pitch. What a win. Smash-and-grab at its finest. The final, truth be told, was dreary final. Rahul Bheke has a story for the ages.
117’ GOAL! BENGALURU 1-0 GOA (Rahul Bheke) What a goal. What a header. A goal worthy of winning a cup final. That was a peach of a connect. The full-back was at the edge of the penalty box but it was angled perfectly into the corner of the net. Naveen could only get a finger-tip on it.
113’ Boithang comes on for Nishu Kumar. Meanwhile, Miku has another shot at goal but the shot goes straight at the keeper.
108’ Goa have their backs to the wall and are clearing everything thrown at them. Just over ten minutes left and Manvir Singh comes on for Jackichand Singh.
RED CARD FOR JAHOUH Clumsy from the Moroccan and he has no complaints about it. He makes the long walk back to the tunnel and Goa have 15 minutes to fight for with ten men.
104’ Both benches are up in arms as Jahouh trailing leg clips Miku. Big decision to be made by the referee.
102’ Another one goes into the book. This time it is Rahul Bheke of Bengaluru.
100’ Confusion between the defence and Gupreet at the Bengaluru goal but nothing comes of it. It’s still goalless in Mumbai
97’ Some long-range shooting on display as Nishu Kumar lets one fly from distance. The ball sails into the stands.
Full-time: Delgado clears the ball from a Jackichand cross and peeep....the match will go into extra-time. No goals so far but there have been chances. Bengaluru had the better of them.
90+1’ Heroic block from Mourtada fall from Miku’s shot in front of goal. The offside flag was raised but replays show that the striker was on-side.
87’ It is running down to full-time and we still don’t have any goals. There are some tired legs in there as the flanks continue to be a busy area of the field.
80’ OFF THE POST Miku breaks through and clips the post. Excellent one-touch passing inside the box from Chhetri and Xisco. Bengaluru’s frustration continues. A minute ago, Gurpreet’s spill inside the box nearly gave the Goans a shot on goal but it was cleared by the Bengaluru defence.
75’ Goa have lots of possession and have pinned Bengaluru in their own half. Once again, there is very little threat in the final third. The Blues haven’t fared any better.
68’ Gama is steadily making an impact on the game, where the keepers have had very little to do apart from coming out of their lines and collect the ball at the edge of the box.
60’ Jackichand comes close with a smart run down the right. His shot lacked power from a tight angle and it was hit straight at Gurpreet.
55’ Miss! What a chance for Miku to give his side the lead. The ball floated in from the right was inch-perfect and the Bengaluru striker found space. His volley, though, was sent into orbit.
50’ More sterile possession. It’s almost like the teams are afraid to give each other a sniff. Bengaluru try to press high and Goa happy to play keep-ball so far.
46’ Jahouh gets into the book. Yet another rash tackle from the Goa midfielder. Not the best of starts for the Gaurs.
Second half is ready to get underway
BENGALURU 0-0 GOA It’s been intense and end-to-end for the most part but little of note in terms of chances. How will Goa regroup after Mandar being substituted? It’s been an entertaining affair so far.
45’ Saviour Gama is Mandar’s replacement. What a setback for Goa. Edu Bedia wears the captain’s armband.
42’ Mandar Rao Desai is down. This could be catastrophic for Goa. The winger went on a blazing run down the left but halted in his tracks and tumbled on the floor. Replays show that he has pulled up his hamstring. It is unlikely that he will carry on.
38’ Yellow for Mourtada Fall The defender slides into Miku, who is writhing in pain. The referee has no hesitation in reaching out for the card
36’ Goa are incensed that a couple of fouls didn’t go their way in the space of minutes. No shortage of crunching tackles in the final so far.
33’ Yet again, both teams flatter only to deceive. Some good combative play in the middle of the park but nothing constructive so far in the final third.
27’ End to end stuff. Udanta’s shot slices the Goa defence open. Miku is through on goal but his cut back (through a rabona) is cleared out somehow. At the other end, Jacki’s pace troubles Bengaluru and Brandon’s shot from just outside the box goes narrowly wide of the post.
22’ Close! Terrific cross from Chhetri from the left and Miku’s header goes narrowly over the bar. Good play there from Bengaluru. The Blues are dictating play in the final.
20’ Communication breakdown between the keeper and defenders and Naveen has to make a last-ditch intervention to punch the ball out for a corner.
19’ Jahouh slides and makes a clumsy tackle on Udanta Singh. He was lucky to not get a yellow card there? More sterile possession from both sides.
16’ Chhetri cuts in takes a shot from the left but yet again, it fails to work Naveen on goal. The skipper was trying for the curler but it went horribly wide of the target.
13’ Half-chance there for Goa as Jackichand whips in a cross from the right. Coro’s volley, though, was wayward
10’ Nerves on display as there are plenty of misplaced passes from both sets of players. No coherent attack so far as Bengaluru dominate possession.
5’ Bengaluru nearly take the lead. Miku goes on a terrific run inside the box but can’t get his finishing boots on. That was close and keeper Naveen does well to distract the Bengaluru striker.
4’ Fall sets up Goa’s first attack and they win a corner. The resulting corner, which was won by Jackichand, was flat and nothing comes of it.
1’ Positive start for Bengaluru. Nishu Kumar tries to release Miku but Goa do enough to clear their lines. Chhetri then tries to strike one from distance but the ball rolls out of play harmlessly.
7:28 pm: Toss time. In case you were wondering, no, Ravi Shastri hasn’t taken over.
7:25 pm: The national anthems are underway at the Mumbai arena.
7:18 pm: The teams are in the tunnel and are ready to make their way onto the pitch. This Bengaluru outfit have big-game experience. Goa, though, look more compact. This is going to be a live-wire of a contest.
7:13 pm: Defender Mourtada Fall could be the key for the Gaurs in the final. The Senegal defender was in top form even during his side’s defeat in the second leg.
7:01 pm: The countdown towards kick-off continues. Here’s our preview of the contest. Both teams have a Barcelona connection.
6:59 pm: Very little surprises with the lineups from both sides. The “front six” of the two teams will hold the key.
18.45: Hello and welcome to the live updates of the Indian Super League final between FC Goa and Bengaluru FC at Mumbai. Both teams will be playing in the summit event for the second time. Sunil Chhetri and Co suffered a heartbreaking defeat on home soil last year. The former I-League champions were leading at half-time before Chennayin FC stunned them in the second half to walk away with the trophy.
Meanwhile, Goa look like a more complete outfit than they were in 2015, where, Chennayin emerged victors once again. Bengaluru were running away at the start of the campaign but their form tapered off towards the end of the season. Goa, meanwhile, steadily grew in confidence and not for the first time in the season, outclassed Mumbai City in the final four. The semi-finals turned into a one-sided rout. As for Bengaluru, they proved to be too strong at home and overcame the first-leg deficit to defeat NorthEast United. The final will be a different test for both teams. Perhaps, it could come down to what the talismans from the respective teams – Sunil Chhetri and Coro – can come up with.