FULL TIME! THE SEASON ENDS FOR ATLETICO DE KOLKATA. CHENNAIYIN FC MAKE IT TO THE ISL 2015 FINAL. THEY FACE FC GOA ON SUNDAY.
EDEL BETE HAS JUST BEEN THE MAN FOR THE AWAY SIDE TODAY. HE MAKES HIS SECOND FINAL IN TWO YEARS.
This has been one of the best matches of this season, by a large scale. Just a game to go now, and the most crucial game of this year. Thanks for joining with me for the match. It was absolutely incredible. Till next time, this is Sayantan, signing off.
Habas has been sent to the stands for a heated brawl with the referees in the closing stages.
IT'S ALL OVER FOR ATK! FIKRU HAS COME BACK TO HAUNT HIS FORMER CLUB. THE STRIKER CAPITALISES ON A HORRIBLE ERROR BY AMRINDER, TO SLOT HOME ABD MAKE THE AGGREGATE SCORE 4-2 IN THEIR FAVOUR.
90' OFF THE WOODWORK! Massive effort from Gavilan to score the third and the most crucial goal. The chipped ball hits gets the header from Hume and it hits the woodwork and goes out.
Added time: 5 minutes.
89' You just can't miss the crucial moments of action now. This will be football at its best.
Meanwhile, Mendoza has been replaced by Fikru.
87' GOOOOAAAALLLL!!!! Iain Hume gets it at last. The Canadian scores from a wonderful volley to blast the net. Dejan Lekic with a world class assist too.
Aggregate score: ATK 2-3 CHE
83' Chennaiyin FC are getting closer to make their first ISL final. Unless ATK brew some late magic, the result is just very predictable now. ATK players have given their all, but Edel Bete has kept on being the saviour for the away side.
Meanwhile, booking for Tiri for bringing Mendoza down.
80' Brilliant effort from Gavilan. The midfielder takes a superb shot from the distance with his left foot, but the shot misses the goal by a mere distance.
77' SHOT! Time is running out, and Hume knows it. The Canadian takes the shot, but Edel Bete, just again, makes the save.
He is not called the best goalkeeper of the ISL just like that.
Attacking change: Rino Anto is replaced by Mohammad Rafique. Can the Indian forward replicate what he did last year?
76' Zakeer Mundampara comes on for Blasi.
73' WHAT A CHANCE! Massive defensive errors by Chennaiyin FC, but a sigh of relief for them as a sprinting Lekic doesn't get an opportunity to pull the trigger.
71' Doutie takes a shot, but just not on target. Antonio Habas is frustrated. The clock is ticking, fast and steadily. What has ATK got to do now?
Sub: Pelissari replaces Elano.
69' Stiven Mendoza falls down holding his face again. Lost track of how many times he did it tonight. The crowd at the Salt Lake Stadium are not loving that though.
66' Augustin Fernandes gets a booking for a needless challenge on Mendoza.
64' Clumsy challenge by Mehraj on Hume. Free-kick from a dangerous position for ATK. Lekic takes it, and the ball finally falls inside the box.
ARATA takes a shot from close-range, but DEAR ME! The ball doesn't see the back of the net. How did it stay out?
62' MENDOZA! The Colombian gets menacingly close to scoring the equaliser. Meanwhile, on the other end, Lekic pulls the trigger again and misses the goal by some inches.
This is crazy display of football by both teams. The momentum of the match has reached zenith now.
59' CHANCE! MISSED! Great first touch of the ball by Dejan Lekic. The forward twists and turns to get past defenders and pull the trigger. But the shot is wide.
Lekic is at it again. The powerful header from the Serbian is just kept out by Edel Bete. What end-to-end action!
55' Pandemonium in the match now. Thoi Singh receives a booking for a crunching challenge, and meanwhile, Mohanraj comes on and headbutts Mendoza, leading to a verbal brawl between the referee and Marco Materazzi.
The Indian defender gets booked, also many might feel that was a red card offence.
53' Ongoing duel between Hume and Dhana. The Indian defender won it on this occasion.
50' CHANCE! Atletico de Kolkata come menacingly close to scoring their second. Rino Anto takes the shot, but to no avail. Wonderful link up by the forwards in the attacking third.
48' Both teams are giving their all now. The momentum is slowly building, and a cracking encounter is on the cards now.
46' Here we go for the second half of play. ATK have to score thrice now, and prevent CHE from scoring any further, to win the match in the next 45 mins.
HALF TIME! Very close so far. Nobody knows the fate of the second half. Both Antonio Habas and Marco Materazzi have to lead from the front now in the dressing room.
Join us in ten minutes for the next half.
45' SHOT! Mohanraj with a shot on goal again, but it is just not on target. Very frustrating for the home team.
Added time: 2 mins.
42' Great cross by Hume from the right flank, and a stunning diving header by Mailson to get the ball out of play.
41' SHOT! Doutie forces yet another save from Bete. ATK are not giving up, not at all.
37' YELLOW CARD! Elano becomes the first player to get into the referee's book.
Meanwhile, Mohanraj has a go on the goal from a distance. The ball gets a deflection, and forces a diving save out of Edel Bete.
33' Gavilan catches Mendoza right at the edge of the box. Free kick for Chennaiyin FC.
Elano standing over it. We may just see the equaliser now, but OH SO CLOSE, the Brazilian gets his shot over the wall, and it contacts with the side-netting. WHAT A CHANCE!!!
32' Thoi Singh has a go on goal, but the shot is way wide.
30' Chennaiyin FC are feeling the pressure now. The interplay of the away team is getting more cautious now. They are dominating possession.
27' SHOT! Jeje takes a shot on the other end. Amrinder doesn't manage to hold on to the ball. Gone out for a corner. Nothing comes of the set-piece though.
23' ALMOST THE SECOND! Arata Izumi takes a long shot on goal, and Edel somehow manages to clear it. What a chance there!
GOAAALLLL!!! Dejan Lekic scores the opener for Atletico de Kolkata in the 22nd minute. Doutie capitalises on a mistake by Mendy, and slots the loose ball into the net, past Edel.
Aggregate score: ATK 1-3 CHE
20' With Marco Materazzi at helm, you can expect Chennaiyin FC to show their defensive abilities to the fullest today. Just no chance anywhere so far for ATK. Remember, they have to pop in a lot of goals to make their way to the ISL 2015 final.
17' Harmanjot makes a clumsy challenge on Doutie. Free kick from a dangerous position for ATK.
Gavilan takes the shot, but it's so frustrating. The ball hits the wall.
13' Bendy comes to the rescue yet again! Lekic feeds a wonderful through ball to Hume inside the box, but the former PSG man prevents Hume from going any further.
10' Good interplay from the home team. The attacking intent is there.
Meanwhile, TOP SAVE from Amrinder to stop a wonderful effort on goal from Stiven Mendoza. The Colombian has started his business already!
6' Jeje has a shot on goal, bit it gets deflected off Arnab for a corner. The resulting corner was close, was not much to trouble Amrinder. Malison goes for the header, but it is over the bar!
4' Elano takes the first free-kick of the match, but nothing comes off it.
On the other end, Dejan Lekic with a great SHOT on goal, but the ball just breezes past the post. That was almost theopener for the home team!
2' Sameehg Doutie was trying to penetrate into the penalty box, but Bernard Mendy has a check on him.
Iain Hume also tries for a shot on goal, but Edel Bete is cautious.
7 pm: The match is under way from the Salt Lake Stadium in the City of Joy. Keep the page open for all the live updates from the game. Trust me, you wouldn't want to miss any moment of the action!
6:55 pm: The teams have lined up for the national anthem. The kickoff is just minutes away!
6:50 pm: Ten minutes to go, the kick off is almost upon us. The atmosphere in the Salt Lake Stadium looks very positive, and it is to be seen whether the positivity works in favour of the home side today.
6:15 pm: We surely can't wait any longer for the match to get under way. But first, let us look at the starting line-up from both sides. Remember, Chennaiyin FC lead 3-0 in aggregate.
Atletico de Kolkata XI: Amrinder; Rino, Arnab (C), Tiri, Mohanraj; Augustin, Doutie, Gavilan, Arata; Hume, Lekic.
Chennaiyin FC XI: Edel; Mehraj, Mendy, Mailson, Dhana; Thoi, Blasi, Harmanjot, Elano (C); Mendoza, Jeje.
No Borja Fernandez, no Ofentse Nato for the home side today. But the 12th man of the team -- the fans -- and their belief, is forever present!
6 pm: The big question on every Indian football fans' minds right now is who joins FC Goa in the ISL 2015 final. Atletico de Kolkata or Chennaiyin FC? We get the answer tonight.
The ISL 2015 semi final second leg clash between Kolkata and Chennai gets under way from the Salt Lake Stadium in the City of Joy in an hour from now. Expect nothing but fireworks as the hosts have a massive task of turning around a 3-0 deficit from the first leg.
Join me, Sayantan (@san_footy), from IBTimes India, with the live updates from the game.
