Principal Correspondent
FOOTBALL / Dempo outplays Churchill Bros.
KOLKATA: Mohun Bagan beat East Bengal 5-3 in the tiebreaker, after the teams were tied 1-1 following 120 minutes of action, in the second semifinal of the 30th Federation Cup football at the Salt Lake Stadium here on Thursday.
Bagan will meet Dempo SC, which beat Churchill Brothers 2-0, in the final.
In the tiebreaker all the Bagan players — Jose Barreto, Marcos Pereira, Lalkamal Bhowmik, P. Lalawmpuia and James Singh — were on target. For East Bengal, Praveen Kumar, Mehtab Hussain and Jayanta Sen scored but Sunil Chetri’s shot was blocked by Bagan custodian Sangram Mukherjee.
The two traditional city rivals shared ample scoring opportunities in the first session but the goal remained elusive as neither could get its finishing right.
Pradhan scores
The sequel of misses ended when East Bengal got a goal from Sanju Pradhan in the 61st minute. The diminutive winger scored with a brilliant volley, getting the ball following a clearance from Bagan defender Rakesh Masih. East Bengal’s joy was short-lived as Barreto levelled by sending home a Marcose Pereira freekick with an exquisitely timed header.
The 30 minutes of extra-time made no difference as the two teams squandered many a scoring opportunity.
In the first semifinal, Ranty Martins’ 13th minute penalty conversion helped Dempo stamp its dominance effectively in the first session.
After missing a chance, Dempo got the penalty kick when Churchill’s Ogba Kalu handled the ball trying to block Anthony Pereira.
Though Churchill had its first look at the Dempo goal at the half-an-hour mark, it produced no result as striker Okolie Odafe sent his volley over from close.
The change of ends did not alter the tenor of the action with Dempo continuing to call the shots.
After Churchill had carried out another an abortive sortie through Odafe in the 50th minute, Dempo turned the match in its favour by doubling the lead in the 58th minute.
Clifford Miranda, who was the most dynamic player in the Dempo attack after Martins, scored a spectacular goal as he dived parallel to the ground to divert home a Joaquim Abranches cross.
Unfortunate collision
Things took a nasty turn in the 73rd minute with when Kalu collided with Martins while attempting a header following a corner.
Kalu missed the flight of the ball and knocked his head against Martins’ in full flight. The blow left the players motionless on the ground with the referee, Shaji Kurian, and the other players gesticulating for medical attention.
As the medical staff rushed in to try and resuscitate the two players, Dempo coach Armando Colaco was seen praying and weeping.
“Federation Cup brings back the terrible memory of Christiano Junior dying in front of my eyes. I hope both Ranty and Kalu are fine," said Colaco, referring to the 2004 Federation Cup final which saw the on-field death of the Brazilian striker.
Both the players were rushed to a nearby hospital and according to information reaching the officials of the two sides, the two were stated to be out of danger.
Published - December 19, 2008 12:00 am IST
