Chennaiyin FC play their last match of Hero Indian Super League 2016 against FC Goa at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in Fatorda on Thursday. Both of last season’s finalists are out of semis contention and will be playing for pride on Thursday at the same venue they played the final last year. Chennaiyin FC head into the game with 15 points from 13 games and will be looking to end their campaign on a high.Chennai head coach Marco Materazzi reflected on happy memories upon his return to the venue of their Hero ISL 2015 final conquest for the first time since last season. “Yes, I’m happy because I have good memories of this place. But every game is different and we will try to keep the good memory of this place and try to win the game,” Materazzi told reporters at the pre-match press conferenceThe Italian legend also insisted that there will be no shortage of effort from his players despite being out of the race for the semis. “We will play for fans and the club. Tomorrow is the chance to show what we can do and we will treat the match as any other match,” Materazzi said.Conceding goals has been one of the reasons behind the Super Machans’ lacklustre showing this year. Only rock-bottom FC Goa (21 goals) have conceded more goals than Chennaiyin’s 20 this year. Commenting on his side’s Achilles heel, Materazzi said: “We just have to be focused and need a little bit of luck, someone shoots from the half pitch and gets the goal.”For the first time since 2014, the league will see no Materazzi, Zico and Antonio Habas in the knockout stage. When asked what could be the reason behind that, the 43-year-old said: “We didn’t qualify for the semi-finals because we conceded some late goals like in the 86th minute in Mumbai, in the 96th minute in the last game and in the 83rd minute in Kolkata, this is regarding my team. Regarding Habas and Zico, it is not for me to comment. They are both good coaches, I respect them very much and it won’t be fair for me to say anything. Anyway, they help the ISL develop football in India.”
