Chirag United win Durand Cup title!

Chirag United SC won the Durand Cup title with a 1-0 win against five time former champions JCT at the floodlit Ambedkar Stadium, Delhi. The 123rd edition of the Durand Cup, the third oldest football tournament in the world, has a new name added to the trophy in Kolkata's Chirag United SC. The new champions received Rs 500,000 (5 lakhs) as prize money, while runners-up received Rs 300,000 (3 lakhs) and the losing semifinalists take home Rs 100,000 (1 lakh).

Once more the hero for the Kolkata side was young 20 year old striker Mohammed Rafique, who like in the semifinals against East Bengal Club, scored the lone goal winner for the men in violett. For Rafique it is turning out to be a sensational first season with Chirag United whom he joined from Tollygunge Agragami in the summer.

It was an open game between the two sides, but Chirag United were the better side on display with Josimar and Rafique causing problems for the JCT defence. The match was mainly contained to midfield action as both sides really failed to use their flanks effectively. Chirag United was hampered due to injuries to defenders Justine Stephen and Chika Wali in the first half itself, but they held on to remain without conceding a goal in the entire tournament. And it was the individual brilliance of Josimar which enabled Rafique to seal the game in the 75th minute with a nice strike. Chirag United held on to the lead to win the match and the trophy.

Chirag United's Brazilian striker Josimar da Silva Martins was named as "Man of the Match" and also "Man of the Tournament" for his stellar performances over the four matches for his team. And the clubs sponsors have announced a cash reward of Rs 1 Million (10 lakhs) to the players for winning their first major title.


MATCH STATS

JCT 0-1 Chirag United SC - Goal: 0-1 Mohammad Rafique (75')

Chirag United: Abhijit Mondal; Subhasis Roy Chowdhury, Justine Stephen (32' Arnab Mondal), Chika Wali (44' Sukhen Dey), Narugopal Hait; Subhas Chakraborty (89' Nascimento Silvira), Denson Devadas, K. Asif, Gouranga Biswas; Mohammad Rafique, Josimar da Silva Martins

JCT: Pawan Kumar; Daljit Singh, Rahul Kumar, Omolaja Kareem, Lalchhuanmawia; Amandeep Singh, Parveen Kumar, Randeep Singh, Maninder Singh (78' Jaswinder Singh); Ayeni Bidemi Daniel (80' Ajay Singh), Badru Keke Ibrahim

Referee: Bikramjit Purkayastha (Delhi)
Assistant Referees: Santosh Kumar, Deepak Singh
Fourth Official: Rabichandra Singh