As it happened: Chennaiyin FC vs FC Pune City, ISL 2015, Match 55

Jeje scored the only goal of the match as Chennai defeated Pune 1-0 to reach the last four of the tournament along with Atletico de Kolkata, FC Goa and Delhi Dynamos FC.

Full time: Chennaiyin FC beat FC Pune City 1-0 to reach the semi-final.

89 mins: Mehrajuddin Wadoo, who has been a mainstay at right back for Chenniayin FC has picked up a reckless yellow card. The referee felt that the defender was taking his time with the throw-in and punished him with the card. He along with Elano will be missing out in the first leg of the semi-finals. They will be a big miss for The Super Machans.

79 mins: Adrian Mutu takes a good first touch to get away from Manuele Blasi. He is within striking range and goes for the goal but lacks the power on this occassion. The shot was also way off target there. This is not how he can help his team get back into the game.

71 mins: Eugeneson Lyngdoh gets his name into the referee's book after kicking the shins of Mendoza from behind. He was no where near the ball there and the referee rightly gave him the card.

Chennaiyin FC break the deadlock through Jeje! The striker got the ball on the right side of the box and fired a shot at the goal but it rebounded back to him off a defender. The Indian then kept his composure and blasted the ball into the bottom right corner to put his team in the lead. Chennaiyin FC have one foot into the semi-finals.

Goal! Jeje scores in the 64th min to give Chennaiyin FC 1-0 lead against FC Pune City.

62 mins: Thoi Singh takes aim from a tight angle on the right and the shot was on a target. There was some venom in the strike but the keeper was up to it.

53 mins: Bernard Mendy comes on to replace Alessandro Potenza.

The second-half kicks off in Pune.

Half-time: FC Pune City 0-0 Chennaiyin FC.

40 mins: John Stiven Mendoza Valencia looked like he was through on the goal but Roger Johnson was alert to the danger. He slid in to clear the ball away in no time to avert the possible goal scoring opportunity for Chennaiyin FC.

27 mins: James Bailey looks in some serious pain as he clahed into John Stiven Mendoza Valencia. The medical staff has come in the middle to treat the injured player. Let's hope it's nothing serious and he gets back on his feet.

24 mins: The first fifteen minutes has been dominated by the home team. They had 4 shots and 6 crosses attempted and hence, lead with 78%.

20 mins: John Stiven Mendoza Valencia has the first real chance of the night for his side as he finds himself with the ball on the right side of the box. He shifts to his left to make the space for the shot but fired it straight at the keeper. Steve Simonsen did well to keep it out as Mendoza had gotten everything behind that strike.

16 mins: FC Pune City have been awarded a free kick right on the edge of the box. We all know what Mutu can do with these dead ball situations. Can he deliver with this one?

8 mins: Adrian Mutu whips a free kick in from the right but the Chennaiyin FC defense stands strong to clear the danger. Fanai Lalrempuia then whips in a good cross across the face of the goal but nobody got on the end of it. Another opportunity arose as Gurjinder Kumar found himself free in the box but his shot was well saved by Edel Apoula.

Its kick-off time in Pune. FC Pune City skipper Nicky Shorey wins the toss and selects the side. Chennaiyin FC will get the ball rolling for the first half, they will be attacking from left to right.

Starting XIs

Chennaiyin FC: Elano Blumer(C), Edel Apoula (GK), Mehrajuddin Wadoo, Mailson, Alessandro Potenza, Dhana, Thoi Singh, Manuele Blasi, Harmanjot Khabra, Jeje, John Stiven, Mendoza Valencia.

FC Pune City: Nicky Shorey (C), Steve Simonsen (GK), Moirangthem Govin, Roger Johnson, Dharmaraj Ravanan, Fanai Lalrempuia, James Bailey, Eugeneson Lyngdoh, Gurjinder Kumar, Adrian Mutu, Yendrick Ruiz.

6:40pm: The Highlanders who beat The Punekars will now be praying for a Pune win against Chennaiyin. NorthEast United FC have finished their campaign with 20 Points (and a goal difference of -5). Their semi-final hopes lies with FC Pune City defeating Chennaiyin FC tonight. For Chennaiyin FC, a draw will suffice, courtesy of a superior goal difference (+9).

6:35pm: After their win against FC Pune City, Chennaiyin had a horror show. They went on a 4 match winless streak, losing 3 out of the next 4 and it looked like all was over for the Chennaiyin fans. Materazzi had to take all the drastic steps which he could have taken and it payed off. Chennaiyin won 3 in a row; scoring 11 goals and conceding just 1. Mendoza scored 5 while Jeje scored 3 out of the 11 goals scored by Chennaiyin in the last 3 matches. Now, they are on the brink of qualifying for the semi-finals for the second successive time.

Chennaiyin FC need only a draw to qualify for the semis as they take on FC pune City in the penultimate game of the Indian Super League season 2 Shree at the Shree Shiv Chhatrapati Sports Complex Stadium in Pune on Saturday.

A win for Pune will mean that Chennaiyin FC will also not make it to the top four. That in turn will seal the deal for NorthEast United who are currently placed fourth on the league table.