FULL TIME. CHENNAIYIN FC ARE ISL 2015 CHAMPIONS.
FINAL SCORE: FC GOA 2-3 CHENNAIYIN FC
90 [+1]' TURNAROUND!!!! WHAT AN INSANE MATCH. STIVEN MENDOZA SCORES. THE COLOMBIAN GETS PAST ARNOLIN AND LUCIO TO SLOT IT AT THE BACK OF THE NET.
WHAT A STUNNING MATCH THIS IS TURNING OUT TO BE.
90' GOOOAAALLLLL! DRAMA. KATTIMANI SLOTS IN AT THE BACK OF HIS OWN NET. SCORES LEVEL.
88' Fikru has come on.
87' GOOOAAALLLLL!!!!!! JOFFRE SLOTS IT HOME FROM THE FREE KICK. STUNNER OF A SHOT. NO CHANCE FOR EDEL AT ALL. IS THIS THE WINNER?
GOA 2-1 CHE
86' Free-kick in favour of FC Goa just outside the box, after a handball by Blasi.
84' SAVED! Mendoza forces a superb save from Kattimani. The Indian custodian earlier denied Mailson too. What a day he is having!
80' Persistence by both sides to get the winner with ten minutes remaining on the clock. Rafael Coelho had a massive attempt on getting a goal, some moments back.
75' WHAT A SAVE! Edel makes one hell of a save to deny Haokip's subtle backheel shot on goal.
73' Lucio tugs on the shirt of Dhana inside the box. But the referee doesn't see that as a foul.
71' Amazing dribbling on display by Joffre. The star schemer tries to make way for himself to deliver a lethal pass, by Edel gets a hold on the ball.
67' Elano to the rescue. The Brazilian star midfielder replaces Pelissari.
Jayesh Rane also comes on for Jeje.
65' CHANCE! Arnolin goes for an overhead kick. Just misses the goal. The noise in the stadium is deafening now.
61' SAVED!!!! Stiven Mendoza misses it. Kattimani makes a save AGAIN. This time he gets the ball out of play. This is brilliant stuff.
59' DRAMA. PENALTY AGAIN!!!! Mendoza brought down by Kattimani inside the box. Arnolin gets into the book for arguing, but the referee points it to the spot.
58' GOOOAAALLLL!!!!! The equaliser is here. Haokip makes it 1-1. Gem of a through ball from Romeo Fernandes.
GOA 1-1 CHE
57' Thoi Singh gets on the book for a clumsy challenge.
54' GOOAALLL! Pelissari scores the opener. Kattimani makes a stunning save but the Brazilian midfielder pounces on the loose ball to slot it home.
GOA 0-1 CHE
52' PENALTY! Pronay Haldar gets it horribly wrong. Mendoza brought down inside the box.
Great chance for Bruno Pelissari and Chennaiyin FC.
50' Tight midfield battle for the last five minutes.
46' Second half gets under way. Will the fate of the match be decided in the next 45 minutes? We have to wait and find that out.
Sub: Leo Moura gets a knock and is replaced by Haokip. Huge blow for FC Goa.
HALF TIME! Not a very good half to be precise. It has been very edgy so far. The second half has got to be more entertaining. The shots on goal have been missing.
45' Speculative shot by Mehraj from far. The ball goes somewhere in the orbit.
Added time: 2 mins.
43' As it looks, the match might be going the distance. But we all know that a plethora of goals at the death has been one of the highlights of ISL 2015.
40' Wide effort by Joffre from outside the box.
38' SHOT AND SAVED! Mendoza uses his dribbling prowess to get past the defenders and pull the trigger. The ball is just pushed away by Kattimani.
35' Jeje, Mendoza, and Thoi Singh are combining dangerously for the away side in the attacking third. But the FC Goa defence are playing their heart out.
32' Dangerous position to get a free-kick. FC Goa may have a lifeline now. Just outside the edge of the box.
JUST WIDE! Leo Moura takes a low shot and the ball gets a slight deflection from a Chennaiyin defender to go wide of the goal.
30' WHAT A CHANCE! Rafael goes clean through, but what a clearance by Mailson. Top defending!
28' Leo Moura and Joffre are really trying their best to get the opener for FC Goa, but Mendy is just stunning so far at the back for Chennaiyin FC.
25' The pace of the game is steadily rising, but we are yet to see any lethal shot on goal from any side.
23' Massive chance by Joffre to get a shot on goal, but superb man marking by Bernard Mendy.
22' Romeo launches a cross from the right wing. Edel gets his hands on the ball though. The momentum is rising now.
20' Meanwhile, amazing counter by the away side. Mendoza breaks through, and Kattimani comes out of his line to push the Colombian away. No penalty however!
19' Free-kick for FC Goa. Jonatan Lucca takes it. Edel gets a hold of the ball but doesn't catch it. Corner now. Jonatan takes it, but cleared.
17' CHANCE! Pelissari uses his pace to get past Lucio and launch a shot on goal. The shot missed the post by miles though.
Meanwhile, a booking for Mehraj for bringing down Joffre.
14' Mandar is now down and is receiving treatments after a mistimed tackle on him by Mehraj. The away side are really playing aggressive football. Not taking any prisoners.
13' The home side are playing their fare share of long balls and short passes, but beating the Chennaiyin FC defence is not easy for them at the moment.
10' No real shot on goal taken so far by either side. Mandar wanted to take an early shot for FC Goa, but that was blocked by the defence. None of the goalkeepers have broken a sweat yet.
8' Sub: Jonatan Lucca replaces the injured Dudu. Early blow for FC Goa.
5' Dudu is down on the pitch now after clashing heads with Mailson. The Nigerian is getting stretchered off, much to the disappointment of the home fans.
4' Thoi Singh giving a superlative display of his pace already. Kattimani gets his first hands on the ball.
2' Romeo gets some treatment after a crunching challenge on him by Pelissari.
1' The home team start with a bang. Mandar attempts a shot already on goal, but blocked by the defender.
7 pm: HERE WE GO! For the one final time this season, the ISL gets under way. Tighten your seatbelts. It's now or never. FC Goa start proceedings.
6:55 pm: Nita Ambani arrives with the trophy in the centre of the pitch. The players, and the team owners Abhishek Bachchan and Virat Kohli also make their way! Anushka Sharma, Varun Dhawan, Kriti Sanon also make the event a star-studded one.
6:45 pm: Just less than 15 minutes to go. It's almost upon us. Moments away!
6:10 pm: And here comes the big news. The starting XI of both teams are announced, and it looks like both sides will be going for an all-out attack from the start:
FC GOA XI: Kattimani; Lucio (C), Arnolin, Haldar, Bikramjit; Rafael, Leo Moura, Romeo, Mandar, Joffre; Dudu.
CHENNAIYIN FC XI: Edel; Mailson, Mendy (C), Mehraj, Dhana; Blasi, Thoi, Harmanjot; Mendoza, Jeje, Pelissari.
6 pm: Let's check out what twitterati are saying ahead of the clash:
5:45 pm: Hope marking today's date in your respective calendars helped. We are just moments away from the grand finale of the Indian Super League this season. 90 minutes, 120 minutes, or penalty shootouts, nobody knows what the fate of the game will be. However, one thing is certain: There will be plenty of talking points and the actions will be at the highest level from the moment the game gets under way.
Who will it be? Can FC Goa achieve their dreams by keeping Chennaiyin FC at bay today? Will the home advantage turn out to be a key for Zico's side? Or will Marco Materazzi's army give their best show today? Loads of questions, and there are plenty of answers to come, too!
But for that, you've got to stick with me, Sayantan (twitter @san_footy), from IBTimes India, for the live coverage of the game from Fatorda. Virat Kohli (FC Goa) or MS Dhoni (Chennaiyin FC)? Zico or Materazzi? Stiven Mendoza or Reinaldo? We will find out soon.
