34th Federation Cup: East Bengal are champions!

Kolkata giants East Bengal Club are the new champions of the Federation Cup! In the final tonight East Bengal beat I-League champions Dempo SC 3-2 in extra-time to lift the 34th Federation Cup title at the floodlit Kanchenjunga Stadium in Siliguri.

On the 56th birthday of their coach Trevor James Morgan the red-and-gold won their overall eighth Federation Cup title, their fourth title in only the last six edition of India's version of the FA Cup.

Infront of 35,000 spectators in a well filled Kanchenjunga Stadium, East Bengal had a home match and they dominated from the start but failed to convert the advantage into goals, while Dempo SC were more concerned of no conceding then scoring early on.

But it was the Goans who took a 50th minute lead through former India captain Climax Lawrence's half volley before East Bengal equalised through an Arnab Mondal header off a Mehtab Hossain free-kick on the hour mark. It stayed one-all until the end and this forced the match into extra-time where East Bengal produced their best attacking game to end Dempo's stiff resistance.

East Bengal pressed on the accelerator in extra-time introducing its super-sub Lalrindika Ralte, the hero against Churchill Brothers in the 91st minute. The young wing-half added pace to the team's attack and set off a through-pass for Penn Ikechukwu Orji, but the latter's hesitation inside the Dempo box spoiled the chance. Then Lalrindika fired a powerful grounder in the 99th minute that came off the Dempo goalkeeper Subhasish Roy Chowdhury and striker Manandeep Singh was there to tap-in the rebound to give East Bengal the lead.

Thereafter East Bengal tried to keep the pressure on Dempo and in the 109th minute Nigerian Chidi Edeh made it 3-1 from a solo effort after getting a long ball from Manandeep, but Dempo kept the match alive and reduced the margin off a header from Mahesh Gawli in the 113th minute but its search for the equaliser remained unrealised.

It ended 3-2 for East Bengal and the Federation Cup title was theirs.


MATCH STATS

East Bengal 3-2 (1-1,0-0) Dempo SC [extra-time] - Goals: 0-1 Climax Lawrence (50'), 1-1 Arnab Mondal (60'), 2-1 Manandeep Singh (99'), 3-1 Chidi Edeh (109'), 3-2 Mahesh Gawli (113')

East Bengal Club
1-Abhijit Mondal - 8-Thokchom Naoba Singh, 3-Arnab Mondal, 2-Raju Eknath Gaikwad, 29-Soumik Dey - 7-Harmanjot Singh Khabra (91' 21-Lalrindika Ralte), 14-Mehtab Hussain [C], 18-Penn Ikechukwu Orji, 35-Ishfaq Ahmed (80' 15-Sanju Pradhan) - 10-Chidi Edeh (117' 25-Robert Lalthlamuana), 26-Manandeep Singh

Dempo SC
1-Subhasish Roy Chowdhury - 18-Valeriano Rebello, 28-Mahesh Gawli, 4-Creson Antao, 2-Debabrata Roy - 14-Anthony Pereira (96' 25-Romeo Fernandes), 8-Climax Lawrence (7-Godwin Diogo Franco), 6-Peter Carvalho, 15-Clifford Miranda (80' 11-Ryuji Sueoka) - 11-Koko Sakibo, 17-Joaquim Abranches

Referee
Vishnu Chauhan (Gujarat)