As FC Goa and Chennaiyin FC prepare to face off against each other in the final of the 2015 Indian Super League (ISL), the Indian football fans would be eagerly anticipating the rise of a new champion of this three-month-long tournament.
Goa has long been known as one of the two heavens of Indian football (the other one being Kolkata), and while Atletico de Kolkata has reigned supreme in the first season itself, FC Goa would be trying to prove themselves as the top dogs this year.
Both Chellaiyin FC and FC Goa have incredible head-to-head statistics with each other. Neither team has won against the other on their own home soil. The two have played each other four times, and each team has managed to win two matches each. So let’s take a look at the four previous encounters between these two sides.
FC Goa 1-2 Chennaiyin FC
October, 2014
This match was incidentally the first time that both FC Goa and Chennaiyin FC were playing in the ISL, and it proved to be an absolute thriller for the Goa crowd. Disappointingly for them though, they were never really able to get into the driving seat in the match, as Chennaiyin FC marquee player Elano and Balwant Singh scored the two goals that gave the Super Machans their first victory of the competition.
Gregory Arnolin, who is one of the few player FC Goa retained in the squad for the 2015 season pulled one back for the Goans, but it was too little, too late. This was a historic match though, as Chennaiyin FC became the first ISL team to register a victory away from home.
Chennaiyin FC 1-3 FC Goa
December, 2014
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This match is a bit of an unfair reflection on the record for Chennaiyin FC, but a result is a result, and FC Goa did win this comprehensively. Chennaiyin FC had already qualified for the semifinal stage of the tournament, and decided to rest a few of their key players in this game. However, FC Goa took full advantage of this situation, as Romeo Fernandes, Andre Santos and Miroslav Slepicka scored the three goals to give FC Goa the three points.
Chennaiyin FC keeper Shilton Paul had a horrendous day under the bar, and was partially responsible for conceding the first two goals that day. Like the previous match, the home side pulled one back in the dying stages of the game, through Jean-Eudes Maurice, but it was too late to salvage the game for Chennaiyin FC.
FC Goa 0-4 Chennaiyin FC
October, 2015
Chennaiyin FC had not taken that defeat very well it seems, as they came back the next season to completely batter FC Goa 4-0 at the Fatorda Stadium, the home turf of the Gaurs.
Stiven Mendoza was the star of the match, scoring a wonderful hattrick, with playmaker Elano also chipping in with a goal of his own, to the utter humiliation of Zico’s men. Materazzi had gathered a lethal team, but they were not performing well up to that point. However, they completely announced their intentions in the league with this win, as Zico described it as one of the worst losses of his career as a manager.
Chennaiyin FC 0-2 FC Goa
November, 2015
This was a rather frustrating night for the hosts, who conceded two penalties and a red card, as FC Goa patiently broke them down and held on to their lead. FC Goa midfielders Leo Moura and Jonathan Lucca converted the two penalties, which were both given under dubious circumstances.
Replays suggested that the referee could have not awarded neither of the two penalties, as Rafael Coelho seemed to go down a bit too easily under a challenge from Chennaiyin FC defender Bernard Mendy. For the second penalty Chennaiyin FC fullback Mehrajuddin Wadoo was wrongly adjudged to have handled the ball. A frustrated Harmanjot Khabra was sent off in the end, as FC Goa exacted their little revenge for the 4-0 loss to Chennaiyin FC, earlier in the season.
Image Courtesy: ISL Media Team
