Forced to shift base to another
venue due to flood in their home city, Chennaiyin FC were crowned the Hero Indian
Super League Champion after they beat FC Goa 3-2 in a drama filled summit
clash, in which three goals were scored in the last four minutes.
In a befitting grand finale of the
ISL second season which saw 186 goals scored in 60 matches as compared to 121
last year, the Chennaiyin vs Goa clash at Jawaharlal Nehru stadium saw as many
as five goals, all of them coming in the second half of the edge of the seat
match. Bruno Pelissari put Chennaiyin ahead in the 54th minute but
Goa equalized within four minutes with Haokip finding the target.
Gonzalez then put Goa ahead for the
first time in the 87th minute in what looked like to be the winning
goal. But under dramatic circumstances Goa goalkeeper Laxmikant Kattimani
conceded an own goal in the 90th minute to level the score before
Chennaiyin striker Mendoza found the target in the first minute of the injury
time to stun the home supporters of Goa. For Chennaiyin, coached by Italian
World Cup Winner Marco Materazzi, the triumph was all the more remarkable as
they had to shift to Pune for their semi-final first leg after their home venue
was devastated by flood.
They were also struggling in the early
part of the league and needed four wins on the trot in their last four matches
to qualify for the semi-finals. But it was heartbreak for Goa FC who looked the
most attacking side in the season under Brazilian legend Zico, who is not
expected to return for the next season. The winner got richer by Rs 8 crore
while FC Goa got Rs 4 crore. The two semi-final losers got Rs 1.5 crore each.
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