Thursday , March 28 2024

FC Goa overcome Chennaiyin FC 2-1 to clinch Super Cup 2019 title!

FC Goa emerged as champions of the Super Cup 2019 after they beat Chennaiyin 2-1 in a tense affair at the Kalinga Stadium in Bhubaneswar on Saturday.

Despite FC Goa being billed as the favourites to take home the crown, it was Chennaiyin FC, who started the game as the better of the two sides. Rafael Augusto, Anirudh Thapa and Dhanpal Ganesh controlled proceedings from midfield. As the game crossed the 20-minute mark, Chennaiyin FC started imposing bundles of pressure on the FC Goa defence. They would create three consecutive chances in a space of three minutes but could not make any of them count. The first would fall to Augusto, who’s effort from Thapa’s cutback was brilliantly blocked by Mourtada Fall, denying an almost certain goal.

From the resulting corner, defender Eli Sabia had a chance to break the deadlock but his fierce near-post shot was well saved by Mohammad Nawaz in goal. The young goalkeeper was given no respite as he had to prove his fine shot-stopping abilities when Ganesh’s header seemed destined for the far post. Given the constant onslaught of pressure, fans in the stadium were left bemused that Chennaiyin FC had not put themselves in the lead yet.

Slowly but steadily, FC Goa started gaining a foothold in the game and could have scored themselves if not for some questionable finishing from Jackichand Singh. The winger only managed to sky his effort after some clever work from Hugo Boumous down the wing. In the end, both sides went into the break without finding the back of the net.

However, that would change from the outset of the second half, as FC Goa drew first blood through their mercurial forward Corominas. After Thapa cheaply gave the ball away near the halfway line, Boumous drove towards Chennaiyin FC’s goal, before forcing Karanjit to make a save. However, the rebound fell perfectly to the Spaniard, who had the simple task of tapping the ball home.

Just as it seemed that FC Goa would run away with the tie, Chennaiyin FC were back level. Raphael Augusto pounced on a loose ball just outside the box, firing a shot which took a massive deflection to deceive Nawaz.

However, the Gaurs didn’t let the goal deter them as they would soon find themselves back in the lead. Corominas was once again at the heart of the action as he picked up the ball 30 yards from goal and released Brandon with a perfectly weighted through-ball. The small-statured winger was quick on his feet as he beat Mailson Alves and Karanjit to slide the ball home – a truly remarkable goal.

As the match reached its final quarter, FC Goa could have sealed the tie when Boumous once again let Jackichand through. The winger had only Karanjit to beat but could not make the most of it. The rebound fell to Corominas, who was brought down inside the box. However, the referee waved away FC Goa’s claims of a penalty, instead pointing towards a goal-kick for Chennaiyin FC. Nevertheless, that would prove to be inconsequential as Goa held on till the final whistle to claim their first-ever Super Cup trophy.

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