The 2016 Indian Super League Final was a

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

match between ATK and

Kerala Blasters Kerala Blasters Football Club (), commonly referred to as The Blasters, is an Indian professional football club based in Kochi, Kerala, that competes in the Indian Super League, the top tier of football in India. The club was established i ...

on 18 December 2016 at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in

Kochi Kochi (), also known as Cochin ( ) ( the official name until 1996) is a major port city on the Malabar Coast of India bordering the Laccadive Sea, which is a part of the Arabian Sea. It is part of the district of Ernakulam in the state of K ...

Kerala Kerala ( ; ) is a state on the Malabar Coast of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, following the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, by combining Malayalam-speaking regions of the erstwhile regions of Cochin, Malabar, South ...

. It was the final match of the 2016 Indian Super League season, the third season of the

Indian Super League The Indian Super League (ISL) is an Indian professional league for men's association football clubs. At the top of the Indian football league system, it is the country's primary football competition. Organised by the All India Football Federat ...

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The match was the second time these two teams played against each other in the Indian Super League final, the previous one was when both sides met in the inaugural 2014 Indian Super League Final, 2014 final. ATK won that final 1–0. Kerala Blasters reached the

finals Final, Finals or The Final may refer to: *Final (competition), the last or championship round of a sporting competition, match, game, or other contest which decides a winner for an event ** Another term for playoffs, describing a sequence of cont ...

after finishing the regular season in second place. ATK finished their regular season in fourth place. In the semi-finals, Kerala Blasters took on the

Delhi Dynamos Odisha Football Club () is an Indian professional football club based in Bhubaneswar, Odisha, that competes in the Indian Super League, the top flight of Indian football. Prior to the inaugural Indian Super League season, the club was founded ...

while ATK played against

Mumbai City Mumbai City Football Club is an Indian professional football club based in Mumbai, Maharashtra that competes in the Indian Super League, the top flight of Indian football. The club was founded in August 2014, during the inaugural season of ...

. ATK hosted Mumbai City in the first match of the finals at the

Rabindra Sarobar Stadium The Rabindra Sarobar Stadium is a multi-use stadium in Lake Gardens, Kolkata, India. It is used for football matches and it serves as the home of many Calcutta Football League matches. History The venue opened in 1961. It also was the home gro ...

. Helped by a brace from

Iain Hume Iain Edward Hume (born 30 October 1983) is a Canadian football manager and former professional soccer player who played as a forward. He began his career at Tranmere Rovers in 2000, and six years later moved to Leicester City for an initial £5 ...

, ATK won the first leg 3–2. The team then secured their place in the final after a 0–0 draw in Mumbai. The Kerala Blasters hosted

in their first match of the finals at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium and won 1–0. In the second leg, the Blasters were defeated 2–1 and thus the score remaining 3–3 on aggregate the match went to a penalty shootout as away goal rule was not applicable in case of

. The Kerala Blasters won the shootout 3–0 to qualify for the final. Watched by a crowd of 54,146, the Kerala Blasters took the lead in the 37th minute through

Mohammed Rafi Mohammed Rafi (24 December 1924 – 31 July 1980) was an Indian playback singer and musician. He is considered to have been one of the greatest and most influential singers of the Indian subcontinent. Rafi was notable for his versatility and ...

. The Kerala Blasters lead only lasted for seven minutes before

Henrique Sereno Henrique Sereno Fonseca (born 18 May 1985), known as Sereno, is a Portuguese former professional footballer who played as a central defender. Club career Guimarães Born in Elvas, Alto Alentejo, Sereno joined Vitória de Guimarães for 2005� ...

equalized for ATK. At halftime the score was 1–1. The second half did not see any goals scored and thus the match went into

extra-time Overtime or extra time is an additional period of play specified under the rules of a sport to bring a game to a decision and avoid declaring the match a tie or draw where the scores are the same. In some sports, this extra period is played onl ...

. The first half of extra-time was goalless and so was the second half. With the score still remaining1–1 after extra-time, the match went into penaltie

Penalty shoot out drama saw Graham Stack (footballer), Graham Stack saving the first shot for ATK which gave a temporary lead for Kerala but Ndyoe blasted the ball over the bar and finally

Cédric Hengbart Cédric Hengbart (born 13 July 1980) is a French professional football manager and former player. He is assistant coach at Ligue 2 club Caen. In his playing days, he was a defender. Playing career Ajaccio On 31 May 2013, AC Ajaccio announc ...

saw his shot getting saved by the trailing leg of ATK keeper

Debjit Majumder Debjit Majumder (born 6 March 1988), is an Indian professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for Indian Super League club Chennaiyin. Early life Majumder hails from Hindmotor, known for Hindustan Motors factory(now closed), in Hooghly ...

, ATK won the shoot-out 4–3 as

Jewel Raja Jewel Raja Shaikh (born 19 January 1990) is an Indian professional footballer who plays as a central midfielder for South United in the I-League 2nd Division. Career Early career Born in Budge Budge, Kolkata, Jewel though had a keen inter ...

scored the winning penalty and they won the Indian Super League Final for the second time in three seasons.

Match

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Indian Super League Final 2016

2016 File:2016 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Bombed-out buildings in Ankara following the 2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt; the impeachment trial of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff; Damaged houses during the 2016 Nagorno-Karabakh ...

Final Final, Finals or The Final may refer to: *Final (competition), the last or championship round of a sporting competition, match, game, or other contest which decides a winner for an event ** Another term for playoffs, describing a sequence of cont ...

2016–17 in Indian football December 2016 sports events in India Kerala Blasters FC matches ATK (football club) matches Indian Super League Final 2016