The third season of the Indian Super League concluded in a dramatic way with Atletico de Kolkata edging Kerala Blasters out in penalties (4-3) to win the league for the second time.
Mohammed Rafi put the Kerala Blasters ahead in the 37th minute with a superb header, but seven minutes later, Henrique Sereno found the back of the net and both the teams went into half-time locked at 1-1.
Thereafter, the sides played out the second half and extra time goalless before the penalties.
The Quint takes a look at the five most memorable moments from the league this year.
1. Kolkata Winning the League
It was a repeat of the first season when Kolkata took on Kerala in the final of the Indian Super League this season. But this time around it was Kochi hosting the match and playing in front of 80,000 yellow supporters.
However, Atletico de Kolkata, who broke Kerala’s heart in 2014, by scoring a goal in the 94th minute, beat Kerala at their own den this time around.
Sourav Ganguly’s team pipped Sachin Tendulkar’s team again and picked up their second ISL title in three seasons.
2. Zico Playing Nine Indians vs NorthEast United
It wasn’t really the best of the seasons for FC Goa with them finishing last in the points table with a goal difference of -10. The team was marred with controversies from the last season itself after they lost the finals to Chennaiyin FC, and in the unfortunate events that followed, the entire topography of the team changed.
From the change of ownership to the lack of a squad, Goa battled it all to play in the third season and when they did, their journey was hampered with injuries and suspensions to their key players. It’s surely unfortunate how the third season of the Indian Super League shaped up for FC Goa.
However, of the few positives that Goa’s head coach Zico would take back from this season is their home match against NorthEast United on 11 November.
With all their key players suspended or injured, Zico decided to field nine Indians against a full strength NorthEast United. This was the first time in the history of ISL that nine Indians played for a team, whereas every team can field a maximum of six foreigner players.
The move did not disappoint Zico at all as the Indian bandwagon managed to pull of an inspiring 2-1 victory over the visitors. Surely a great victory for Indian football?
3. The Highest Scoring Game in the History of ISL
FC Goa again makes it to the list, this time with Chennaiyin FC who finished second last in the table. Both the teams were the finalists in last year’s edition and by the time they played this match, both were eliminated from the third season.
With both playing their final league match of the season, the intention was to end things on a high. And what a match it turned out to be. Goa got the better of Chennaiyin 5-4.
The mayhem started in the 4th minute with the youngest ISL player Jerry Lalrinzuala (Chennaiyin FC) netting his first goal of the league and since then both teams went on to score goals at regular intervals.
Ultimately Sahil Tavora ended the match by scoring the winner for Goa in the last minute of regular time.
This match is the highest scoring ISL match. FC Goa dedicated their victory to FC Chapecoense.
4. CK Vineeth – Special for Kerala
Playing in front of an audience of 53,000 plus supporters, Kerala were trailing by a goal to Chennaiyin FC in a much win encounter on the 12 November. In the 67th minute, Didier Kadio gave the home team the much-needed equalizer. But a win was what Kerala looking for.
It was then that magic happened. CK Vineeth who joined the team after a miraculous AFC Cup journey scored a brace in a span of five minutes to seal things off for Kerala.
The first goal came in the 85th minute while the second was scored in the 90th minute. One could just imagine the atmosphere inside the JLN Stadium, the fans went bonkers with celebration.
Just to add on here, the Kerala fans were really annoyed with Chennaiyin because of an unwarranted incident in their reverse fixture. They planned a protest when the team from Tamil Nadu came to play in Kerala.
The victory however served a greater good for the fans.
5. A Fan Running Onto the Pitch to Hug a Player
Football is game of emotions. And certain parts of the country happen to be crazy for the game. North East India is one such region.
When Delhi Dynamos went to Guwahati for a game, a victory was all the home team needed. And the team rightfully kept their semi-final hopes alive by overcoming Delhi 2-1. It was only in the last minute that the team conceded a goal, but otherwise things were smooth for the team.
But we all will remember the game for a different reason. Migom Kumbang, an IIT Guwahati student jumped over the fence, wearing a NorthEast United T-Shirt, and hugged Romaric, who scored the team’s second goal.
We were so happy when the first goal was scored, and in an instance, I made my mind, if a second goal is scored and I will jump onto the pitch. And when Romaric did it, I could not stop and ran towards the Ivory Coast player to hug him.Migom Kumbang to Sportskeeda
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