Fatodra: FC Goa and Chennaiyin FC will lock horns with each other in the final match of the second edition of the Indian Super League (ISL). The match will be played in Jawarharlal Nehru Stadium, in Fatodra, which incidentally is the home ground of FC Goa. The match is expected to be a high voltage clash between two top class teams who will be crowned the new kings of ISL.
Playing in front of their home crowd will definitely make FC Goa the favourites because the Ghaurs almost become invincible in the Fatodra Stadium. Moreover, just few days back, they defeated Delhi Dynamos 3-0 in the return leg of the semi-finals as they were trailing by a 1-0 deficit. This will certainly boost their morals. But an interesting fact to be noted here is when both the teams met each other in the league phase in the same venue, Chennaiyin thrashed FC Goa 4-0 with their star striker Steven Mendoza scoring a hat-trick. The visitors will definitely gain inspiration from this and try to repeat that night's performance.
Coming to FC Goa, their attacking play has been their main asset which has been complemented by scoring of lots of goals. They have in form strikers, Dudu Omagbemi and Rafael Cohelo but their main strength lies in the midfield consisting of Spaniard Jofre and Brazilian Leo Moura and Indian Romeo Fernandes. Moura has been in sensational form in this ISL and he, along with Jofre and Romeo will have to task to control the midfield because that is where the key to the match lies. If Goa dominates the midfield zone, they will undoubtedly control the match and chances of goals will increase exponentially.
Their defence will be headed by the experienced Brazilian World Cup winner Lucio and Frenchman Gregory Arnolin , who will have a tough task to handle a major threat called 'Mendoza'. Also Indian players like Mandar Rao Desai, Pronay Halder and custodian Laxmikanth Kuttimani Kuttimani add strength to FC Goa's final eleven. Mandar has speed and skills just like Romeo, Pronay was exceptionally good in man marking and defending while Kattimani's keeping has been largely satisfactory in this edition of the ISL. The main USP of Zico's team has been their attack and counter-attacking abilities combined with excruciating speed, skill and teamwork.
Talking of Chennaiyin, they have two big assets in their team that can turn the match in their favour. One is their Colombian forward, Steven Mendoza and the other their goal-keeper Edel Bete. Mendoza has been simply phenomenal and almost became a nightmare for any rival defence. His ball-controlling, dribbling, passing and shooting skills is just outstanding and once again he will be the ace for the visiting team. On the other hand, Edel Bete's goalkeeping has been of impeccable standards. It was because of his valiant saves, Chennaiyin somehow managed to survive the ATK threat in the return leg of their semifinal and once again it will be upto Edel to thwart Fc Goa's attacks.
Apart from Mendoza, Chennaiyin has Jeje as their second striker, who too knows how to score goals very well. Their midfield will be consisting of Thoi, Elano, Bruno Pellisari and Khabra, all of whom are in a fine touch. It will be their defence which will be tested again, as they were tested in the previous match against ATK. Bernard Mendy,Dhanachandra Singh, Mailson Alves and Wadoo forms their strong back four.
FC Goa was leading the points table in the league phase and accordingly they have made it to the finals. Their journey has been relatively smooth and they would like to end their campaign on a happy note. Chennaiyin FC, on the other hand, has peaked in the closing stages of the league and now they are just one game away from taking the ISL trophy home and spoil Goa's Christmas party. Altogether it looks like it is going to be a highly entertaining match at the Fatodra.
