Majestic Mumbai make their way to ISL semis

ISL

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After two years of disappointment, Mumbai City are finally in the ISL playoffs. After two years of success, Chennaiyin FC's time as the top guns of the league is nearly over.

On Wednesday night at the Mumbai Football Arena, the hosts produced a majestic display of control and precision, as two great goals from Matias Defederico and Krisztian Vadocz helped them outclass Chennaiyin 2-0.

The win was Mumbai's sixth of the season, and they are now the first team to book a spot in the last four. The defeat was Chennaiyin's third in five matches, and qualification to the playoffs is now out of the defending champions' hands.

Mumbai had never beaten Chennaiyin in five previous occasions between the two sides, losing four times.

The hosts, however, entered Wednesday's clash as firm favourites, with both goals and momentum on their side.

Chennaiyin were rooted near the bottom, and having failed to settle into any kind of rhythm all season, the pressure was on them to come out and play for three points.

Marco Materazzi, though, as he has done throughout the season, once again fielded a XI that just did not have the right balance, and Mumbai stamped their authority on the game right from the kick-off.

Armed with more than enough firepower in Diego Forlan, Defederico and Sunil Chhetri, Mumbai wasted no time in pinning Chennaiyin back in their own half.

At the right, Defederico was a constant menace, twisting and turning past defenders for fun. At the left, the full-back Sena Ralte was always on the lookout for chances to bomb forward and whip in crosses. And, around the box, Chhetri and Forlan were always lurking, looking to feed each other with crisp, concise one-twos.

Chennaiyin were happy to defend in two banks of four, but faced with an onslaught from all sides and directions, it was only a matter of time before the first Mumbai goal.

Chhetri came close to adding his first of the season, flicking a Defederico cross from the right straight at the keeper in the 14th minute, but he would eventually make a decisive impact.

In the 32nd minute, with Mumbai enjoying heaps of possession, Chhetri collected the ball on the left, exchanged passes with Vadocz, and continued his run into the box. Chhetri had the chance to pull the trigger, but unselfishly chose to square the ball on a plate for Defederico, who could not miss from close range.

Mumbai had their deserved goal, and Chennaiyin's sinking campaign had another hurdle to clear past.

Set up in a defensive 4-2-3-1, Chennaiyin's lone striker Davide Succi was completely isolated, and the midfielders behind him - Raphael Augusto, Hans Mulder and Jayesh Rane - did not do nearly enough to wrest control of the game.

Even Chennaiyin's defensive game was suspect. Materazzi opted to use his marquee player John Arne Riise as a holder, but Riise was far too slow on the turn, failing to offer any protection for his back four.

It made for a rather one-sided contest, with Mumbai passing circles around the hapless Chennaiyin defenders and picking out the free spaces at will.

Chennaiyin's only real way back into the game appeared to be half-hearted appeals for penalties, and despite Materazzi's furious protests on the sidelines, the referee was not ready to award spot-kicks for 50-50 handballs.

Mumbai went into the break only a goal up, but they continued to dictate the terms even in the second half.

Chennaiyin had no choice but to commit men forward in search of an equalizer, and Mumbai's attackers were more than happy to exploit all the free grass in front of them.

Chennaiyin tried their best to force a way through the Mumbai wall, but they were reduced to pot-shots from distance, with both Augusto and Succi's radars broken.

Chennaiyin's spirit was slowly fading away, and in the 61st minute, it was completely crushed. Forlan's cross from the right was high and seemed to be heading away from danger. However, the ball dropped kindly just outside the box to Vadocz, who sold his marker a dummy, chested it down, and fired a half-volley past Karanjit's near post.

Karanjit got both hands to the ball, but could still not keep it out. It summed up Chennaiyin's "nearly" season.

Mumbai could have heaped more misery upon the visitors, but Chhetri missed two one-on-ones in the space of a minute, and the substitute Thiago Cunha forced a fine save from Karanjit.

There were 30 minutes left on the clock, but Chennaiyin were already well and truly beaten. Their focus had presumably shifted to what are now two must-win matches against NorthEast United and FC Goa.