Atletico de Kolkata through to ISL final

Agencies Margao, December 17 Atletico de Kolkata edged past FC Goa 4-2 on penalties after the two sides played out yet another drab goal-less 120 minutes in the second leg of the semi-finals at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, Margao on Wednesday evening. Andre Santos’s spot-kick sailed over the bar while Haroon Amiri’s effort struck the upright. Tolgay Ozbey and Clifford Miranda successfully converted but it was not enough as all four, namely Josemi, Mohammed Rafi, Jofre Mateu and Borja Fernandez of the Kolkata players scored from the spot. As a consequence, the Kolkata outfit confirmed their place in the finals of the Indian Super League (ISL) wherein they shall face Kerala Blasters. It was the visitors who had the first chance of the game when Jakub Podany was brought down by Gregory Arnolin but the resultant free-kick by Josemi sailed into the orbit. The home side should have done better in the seventh minute when Debabrata Roy crossed for Andre Santos at the far post. The Brazilian pulled the ball back which was deflected by an outstretched foot of Ofentse Nato for Romeo Fernandes. The Indian winger’s effort found the side-netting, much to the relief of the Botswana defender. Four minutes later, Mohammed Rafi latched onto the long ball and pulled it back for the onrushing Sanju Pradhan whose shot from the outside of his foot blazed over the bar. The 20th minute saw Edel Bete pull off a fantastic save to deny Arnolin. This was after Haroon Amiri found Miroslav Slepicka whose cross into the box was met by Arnolin only for the Kolkata custodian to parry it. At the half hour mark, Mandar found Santos inside the box but the Brazilian took one touch too many which saw the opportunity go wasted. Peter Carvalho had to be substituted towards the end of the first half and in came Jewel Raja for the Goan midfielder. At the start of the second session, Lester Fernandez was replaced by Kingshuk Debnath as the former Pune FC midfielder was targeted by the Goans with almost all of their attacks being built from the left. Two minutes after the break, Romeo got the better of Josemi and unleashed a left-footed effort which saw Edel scrambling to just about keep it out. In the 56th minute, Santos was found free inside the box by Slepicka and just as the former Arsenal midfielder was about to shoot, he was brought down by Arnab Mondal but referee Ravshan Irmatov wasn’t interested. Luis Garcia’s evening came to an end four minutes later as he seemed to have pulled his hamstring yet again and was replaced by Jofre Mateu. Mandar did well to get beyond Debnath on the left and pull it back for Santos from the byline. The Brazilian took a touch and saw his shot from a tigh angle being saved by Edel at the near post. The play was restricted to the middle of the park as neither team could unlock the defense of the other side. Jofre pushed the ball ahead for Baljit Sahni who tried to line up a shot from the edge of the Goa box but Pinheiro was alert to avert the danger in the 73rd minute. At the other end, Slepicka did well to evade a couple of players but was brought down by Borja. From the ensuing free-kick by Santos, Edel came off his line to punch it clear in the 85th minute. In the final minute of the stoppage time, Josemi’s free-kick from 30-yards out went inches above the target as the game went into extra time. Zico introduced a fresh pair of legs as Tolgay Ozbey was brought on in place of Slepicka. Sahni had a chance as he danced his way into the opposition box but his shot was blocked by Arnolin. In the 102nd minute, Romeo did well to cut past two Kolkata defenders and square a ball for Mandar whose tame shot went straight into the hands of Edel. Cavin Lobo was introduced by the visitors at the start of the extra time’s second half while Zico substituted Arnolin by bringing on the experienced Clifford Miranda.