ISL semi-finals, FC Goa vs Chennaiyin FC, second leg, as it happened: Chennaiyin reach third final

FT: GOA 4-2 CHE (Agg: 5-6)

FT: GOA 4-2 CHE (Agg: 5-6)

Heartbreak for Goa fans but they could be proud of their team’s effort.

FT: GOA 4-2 CHE (Agg: 5-6)

CHENNAIYIN ARE THROUGH TO THE FINAL! Goa gave it their and won 4-2 on the night but Chennaiyin’s 4-1 win in the first leg is enough for them to go through 6-5 on aggregate. Goals from Chhangte and Valskis in the second half prove to be crucial for the visitors as they reach their third final. What a game!

90+1’ GOA 4-2 CHE (Agg: 5-6)

Four minutes added on after the end of the ninety minutes.

89’ GOA 4-2 CHE (Agg: 5-6)

CHANCE! Fall almost has his hat-trick but gets his header all wrong. It’s a big miss for Goa in the circumstances. Goa are all over Chennaiyin in these dying minutes.

83’ GOA 4-2 CHE (Agg: 5-6)

GOOOOAAALLLL! MOURTADA FALL scores! Well, well! What’s happening at Fatorda. Goa now need just two goals in the final seven minutes to sneak into the final.

81’ GOA 3-2 CHE (Agg: 4-6)

GOOOOAAALLLL! Edu Bedia scores for FC Goa to give them the lead on the night, but Chennaiyin’s two away goals mean they need three more to progress.

80’ GOA 2-2 CHE (Agg: 3-6)

Mourtada Fall is playing up top now as Goa are looking to pepper the Chennaiyin box with crosses. It is leaving the door open for Chennaiyin to add a third.

76’ GOA 2-2 CHE (Agg: 3-6)

Mourtada Fall goes close for Goa from a Brandon free-kick. Time is running out for the home side.

72’ GOA 2-2 CHE (Agg: 3-6)

Saviour Gama coming on for Jackichand Singh as Goa look to score four in the next twenty minutes.

71’ GOA 2-2 CHE (Agg: 3-6)

WIDE! Germanpreet wins the ball in the key area to run clear at the Goa goal but his final effort is tame and wide. A good chance to give Chennaiyin the lead on aggregate

67’ GOA 2-2 CHE (Agg: 3-6)

DOUBLE SAVE! Goa almost score a third but Chennaiyin thwart their attempts first from Fall and then from Corominas.

59’ GOA 2-2 CHE (Agg: 3-6)

GOOOOOAAALLL! VALSKIS MAKES IT 2-2! Poor marking from FC Goa as Valskis has an easy header from a corner. Chennaiyin get their second away goal and Goa now need to score four goals. A really tall ask now for Goa

51’ GOA 2-1 CHE (Agg: 3-5)

GOOOOOOOAAAAALLLLL! CHENNAIYIN PULL ONE BACK! Chhangte taps home from close range after Nawaz spills Crivellaro’s shot in the Indian’s path. Chennaiyin have the crucial away goal and Goa now need to score twice to simply force extra time

48’ GOA 2-0 CHE (Agg: 3-4)

CHANCE! The cross is deflected into Jackichand Singh’s path but it is slightly behind him as he fails to get a good connection. A let-off for Chennaiyin

46’ GOA 2-0 CHE (Agg: 3-4)

Second half begins.

HT: GOA 2-0 CHE (Agg: 3-4)

What a great half of football! Goa are right back in the tie after an excellent half in Fatorda. Lucian Goian’s own goal and Mourtada Fall’s strike had the Gaurs leading 2-0 on the night, but still trail Chennaiyin 3-4 on aggregate. However, as things stand Goa need just one more goal to go through, provided they don’t concede any. Big second half to come

45+1’ GOA 2-0 CHE (Agg: 3-4)

Two minutes of stoppage time added on

38’ GOA 2-0 CHE (Agg: 3-4)

Referee denies Chennaiyin a free-kick as Fall appeared to have fouled Valskis. Owen Coyle is wild on the touchline as he feels the decisions have gone against him.

33’ GOA 2-0 CHE (Agg: 3-4)

The Boumous injury has perhaps just helped Chennaiyin weather the storm and step the flow of Goa attacks. The visitors are looking to get a foothold in the game after being blown away in the first quarter of the match. They still lead 4-3 on aggregate

23’ GOA 2-0 CHE (Agg: 3-4)

Blow for Goa as Boumous is stretched off injured. He was so influential in the opening exchanges. He is replaced by Edu Bedia

21’ GOA 2-0 CHE (Agg: 3-4)

GOOOOAAAAAAALLLLL! IT’S 2-0! MOURTADA FALL heads home a free-kick from Brandon Fernandes and Goa are two-third way through mission impossible!

17’ GOA 1-0 CHE

CLOSE! Goian almost make amends at the other end as the Chennaiyin corner floats over Nawaz to the far post where Goian is there but the curl on the ball takes it slightly behind the Chennaiyin skipper who misses the target.

15’ GOA 1-0 CHE

CHANCE! Corominas heads back a Boumous corner into the danger area. Mourtada Fall is there to profit but puts his header wide. Goa on top in Fatorda.

10’ GOA 1-0 CHE

GOOOOOOAAAAALLL! GOA SCORE! Jahouh finds Jackichands’s run whose cross is headed into his own net by Lucian Goian. Game on!

8’ GOA 0-0 CHE

FC Goa are having a right go. Here are the possession stats after eight minutes

7’ GOA 0-0 CHE

CHANCE! Great work from Seriton down the right hand side to make space for a cut-back that finds Boumous on the edge of the area but his shot is blocked.

2’ GOA 0-0 CHE

Early free-kick for FC Goa! Jahouh feeds it to Pena who rises above Eli Sabia but can only find the side-netting. Good start for the home side.

1’ GOA 0-0 CHE

KICK OFF! The action is underway at the Fatorda!

7:28 pm: Time for the business again!

After brief celebration from FC Goa, it’s time for the business again. National anthems ongoing

7:26 pm: League Shield Winners, FC Goa

7:25 pm: Guard of honour for FC Goa

Chennaiyin FC give guard of honour to FC Goa, the winners of the League winners’ shield,

7:14 pm: The equation for FC Goa tonight

If Goa keep a Clean Sheet, Goa need to win by a margin of three goals or more.

If Goa concede one goal, Goa need to win 4-1 to force extra-time or win by a margin of four goals or more.

If Goa concede more than a goal, Goa need to win by a margin of four goals or more.

To sum it up, FC Goa need to score a minimum of three goals to have any chance of progressing

6:57 pm: Big task on hands for FC Goa

Only two teams, Bengaluru FC and FC Goa have overturned first-leg deficits to advance to the final of the ISL. The Blues did it last year when they came back from 1-2 down against NorthEast United to reach the final. FC Goa overturned a 0-1 deficit in 2015 against Delhi Dynamos to make the final.

That day they won 3-0 to reach a final that was to be played in their own stadium. A similar result today will do the job for the Gaurs tonight. A sense of deja vu maybe?

6:50 pm: Big milestone for Mandar Rao Dessai

100th appearance for the FC Goa captain, who has been with the club through the highs and the lows. Will he and his team be able to make his 100th match the most special ever in the FC Goa shirt?

6:38 pm: Here are the teams for today:

FC Goa XI: Mohammad Nawaz (GK), Carlos Pena, Seriton Fernandes, Mourtada Fall, Hugo Boumous, Ahmed Jahouh, Brandon Fernandes, Jackichand Singh, Lenny Rodrigues, Mandar Rao Dessai (C), Ferran Corominas.

Chennaiyin XI: Vishal Kaith (GK), Lucian Goian (C), Eli Sabia, Jerry Lalrinzuala, Laldinliana Renthlei, Lallianzuala Chhangte, Edwin Vanspaul, Anirudh Thapa, Rafael Crivellaro, Nerijus Valskis, Andre Schembri.

6:38 pm: TEAMS NEWS!

In a big boost for FC Goa, Brandon Fernandes and Hugo Boumous are back in the line-up after missing out in the first leg of the semi-final; They’ll be needing all their creative talent today if they are to overturn this result.

Hello and welcome to the coverage of the second leg of the first semi-final between FC Goa and Chennaiyin.

FC Goa face Chennaiyin FC in the second leg of the Indian Super League semi-finals, looking to overturn the 4-1 deficit at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, Goa on Saturday.

Goa will be boosted by the return of Edu Bedia who missed the game in Chennai due to personal reasons. There is more good news as Brandon Fernandes and Hugo Boumous, who were injured for last week’s tie, are back in contention for a start. Boumous, in particular, has been in spectacular form this season having scored 10 and assisted 11 in 14 matches.

With the return of Brandon, Goa would hope for better deliveries from wide positions, something which was missing from their game in the first leg.

Ferran Corominas will play as a number nine after playing as a withdrawn forward in the last game. The Spanish striker has 14 goals to his name this season and Goa need his goals now more than ever.

Interim coach Clifford Miranda will have a decision to make as to whether he would deploy an all-attacking line-up of Bedia, Boumous and Corominas or choose to go with two foreign centre-backs in Mourtada Fall and Carlos Pena.

“We have to win to overcome the deficit, but that does not mean we go all out from minute one. It’s 90 minutes and more and whatever football that I know, it is not decided in the first 10 to 15 minutes. It will be till the final whistle and we will take it minute-by-minute,” FC Goa coach Clifford Miranda said.

Meanwhile, Chennaiyin FC would look to score first and make the task even more improbable for the home side. Should Chennaiyin find the back of the net, Goa would need at least five goals to move to the final.

Coach Owen Coyle has mentioned that his players would not be lackadaisical in the second leg, despite enjoying a three-goal lead.

He would also ask for an improved performance from the front three of Nerijus Valskis, Rafael Crivellaro and Andre Schembri who had a quiet game by their standards. Goa also need to keep a check on the Chennaiyin attackers who are more than capable of hurting the opponent through a quick counterattack.

“When you have any sort of advantage, it’s good to have that. That being said, we know that we have a very dangerous match. Over the course of the 18 games in the league, they have been the best team. I have so much respect for FC Goa and that won’t change (but) we have to make sure that we see our advantage through, not that it won’t present its own challenges,” said Coyle.

A place in the final awaits the winner and coaches wouldn’t find it difficult to motivate their squad to give it their all in this intriguing tie.