Chennaiyin FC crushed Benglauru FC’s dream of lifting the Indian Super League crown in its debut season by beating it 3-2 in the final at the Sree Kanteerava Stadium here on Saturday.
Two headed goals from centre-back Mailson Alves and an expertly-taken third by midfielder Raphael Augusto — who was outstanding on the day — ensured that Chennaiyin would lift its second ISL trophy. It is now tied with Amar Tomar Kolkata (ATK) on two titles.
When Sunil Chhetri opened the scoring in the ninth minute, BFC couldn’t have hoped for a better start. But by the time forward Miku scored the second in the 90th, the match was as good as over.
For the 25,000-odd fans who had assembled though, the match provided entertaining fare. Bengaluru pressed from the outset particularly in the right-inside channel where Miku and Udanta Singh combined well.
This was the route the first goal took as defender John Johnson drove through the midfield unchallenged and passed to Miku who played Udanta behind the Chennaiyin FC right-back Jerry Lalrinzuala. Alves got a foot to Udanta’s cross but Chhetri at the far post perfectly re-calibrated his run to head home.
Chennaiyin, however, reacted well. Brazilian Augusto ran the show from the midfield even as Gregory Nelson’s and Jeje Lalpekhlua’s fluid movement upfront kept BFC guessing. The 6’4” Eric Paartalu playing as an auxiliary centre-back — BFC lined up with a three-man defence — gave a decent account of himself.
However, neither he nor his other towering teammates could do anything when Alves rose above everyone to head in the equaliser in the 17th minute. He was afforded so much time that he even placed his hands on teammate Sereno Fonseca’s shoulder to gain some extra elevation. The goal that put Chennaiyin ahead came on the stroke of half-time with Alves this time out-jumping centre-back Juanan Gonzalez.
Between the two goals, BFC midfielder Dimas Delgado saw a half-volley cleared on the line by defender Inigo Calderon, while Chhetri and Miku tried their luck from far. Immediately after the restart, there were even four successive corners which the home side wasted.
At the other end Gurpreet Singh Sandhu made an excellent low save to his left to deny Nelson but it wasn’t long before Chennaiyin seemingly buried the contest. In the 67th minute, Augusto, after receiving the ball from Jeje Lalpekhlua just outside the penalty area, curled one around Juanan, completely blindsiding Gurpreet.
Chhetri then forced a leaping Karanjit Singh to deflect a ball which was headed for the top corner. With just five minutes to go, Miku found the BFC skipper with a deft cut-back only for him to send it soaring over the bar when he had just the goalie to beat. A crestfallen Chhetri lay on the floor and it was probably the image which best captured the night.
The result: Chennaiyin FC 3 (Mailson 17, 45, Raphael 67) bt Bengaluru FC 2 (Chhetri 9, Miku 90).
It has been an incredible journey for us. We hung in there... showed amazing character.
John Gregory, Chennaiyin FC coach
