An exciting penalty shootout, the first of the Hero Indian Super League, secured Atlético de Kolkata’s passage to the final of the competition after the second leg of their semi-final against FC Goa ended in a goalless draw. The visitors squeezed through after no goals were scored in over 200 minutes of football played over the two legs, and will meet Kerala Blasters FC in the competition’s finale, to be held at the DY Patil stadium in Mumbai on December 20.The players on both teams did well to last the entirety of the game, but the visitors eventually came on top in the penalty shootout, as Josemi, Mohammed Rafi, Jofre and Borja Fernández all converted from the spot, and Kolkata benefited from misses by Goa’s André Santos and Zohib Amiri. Indiansuperleague.com caught up with Jofre Mateu González after the match to talk about the nerve-racking ordeal, and the Spaniard was a relieved man as he expressed his happiness at his team’s combined effort to get to the final.“It was a tough match. Both teams didn’t want to lose,” said the midfielder. “We just had to keep control of the game and not concede any goals. We had chances to score, but we were tired from all the matches. We’re really happy to go into the final!”Goa did their best to break through the Kolkata defence, but even when they did, could not get past Apoula Edel Bete in goal. Though Goa played an attacking game, it seemed that it was Kolkata’s plan to soak up the pressure and hit them on the counter. “Yes, it was,” Jofre affirmed. “We just tried to stick together and not give them any chances to score. We tried to score as a team. It was a good team effort, it was also a big sacrifice and we’re in the final,” he said. When asked whether Goa crumbled under the pressure on home soil, with the expectations of fans weighing them down, Jofre replied, “I don’t think so, because when you are with your home crowd you are most confident. When it comes to penalties you must shoot well, but there is also an element of luck.”Kolkata head coach Antonio López Habas was visibly in some discomfort during the game, but stood strong until the end. Usually very outspoken, Habas didn’t say much to his group of players who volunteered to take the penalties. “He didn’t say anything, I just said that I would like to kick one and I was pretty sure that I would score,” said Jofre, who took the third penalty for Kolkata.Now, only Kerala Blasters stand in the way of Atlético de Kolkata and ISL glory, and Jofre assures that his team is going to put the strains of the competition behind them and do their best one last time. “We will play the same as today. All the players will be tired from both semi-finals, they (Kerala Blasters) have one more day to rest, but we’ll try to put on a good show for the fans.”
