Bhubaneswar, April 12: Chennaiyin FC beat ATK 2-0 in the second Super Cup 2019 semifinal at the Kalinga Stadium to set up a title clash with FC Goa.
Earlier, Goa had defeated I League champions Chennai City FC 3-0, in the other last-foue encounter.
After a goalless first half, CK Vineeth scored with a header in the 50th minute to break the deadlock and put Chennaiyin in the lead.
Anirudh Thapa doubled Chennaiyin's lead eight minutes later and the scoreline remained unaltered till full time.
On to our third final in five seasons 🙌#CHEKOL #HeroSuperCup #PoduMachiGoalu pic.twitter.com/oLISyoaDv9
— Chennaiyin FC 🏆🏆 (@ChennaiyinFC) April 10, 2019
The final will be held on Saturday (April 13).
At the post-match press conference, a delighted Chennaiyin coach, John Gregory, was all praise for his team and Hero of the Match -- Thapa.
1⃣ delicious assist 😋
— Indian Football Team (@IndianFootball) April 10, 2019
1⃣ cracking goal 💥@ChennaiyinFC's @AnirudhThapa is the Hero of the Match for the second game in a row! 😍😍#IndianFootball #HeroSuperCup #ATKCFC @HeroMotoCorp pic.twitter.com/gbOH1Gzc8o
"I feel this was our most complete performance this season. It was very pleasing on the eye and we were really tough to play against, like the Chennaiyin from last season. We had the right kind of balance. We dominated from start to finish. It's a huge opportunity now for us to end the season with a trophy."
From the ATK camp, coach Steve Coppell expressed his disappointment with the result, "I knew it would be a really close game. They had a little bit more size in midfield than we anticipated. I thought they would either play (Dhanpal) Ganesh or (Christopher) Herd. When I saw them start with both, I knew that it would make it a little bit more difficult for Manuel Lanzarote and Edu Garcia. And that proved to be the case. We didn't get a flow in our play."