The Hindu : Sport : East Bengal regains Federation Cup

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Monday, Sep 17, 2007
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Sport

East Bengal regains Federation Cup

Vijay Lokapally

— Photo: Akhilesh Kumar

ECSTATIC: The East Bengal team after winning the Federation Cup.

LUDHIANA: East Bengal had reached the final without Edmilson Marques but thrived on his presence in the title fight to tame Mahindra United and carry home the Federation Cup it last won in 1996. For its coach Subrata Bhattacharya and that fabulous Brazilian striker Edmilson, it was a night to celebrate.

Edmilson scored both the goals (in 29th and 45th minute) as East Bengal won 2-1 in a contest that did not quite rise to the expectations but then Mahindra’s woes were self-inflicted, playing with ten men after 42 minutes of play. For a change, pleasant no doubt, there was good audience at the Guru Nanak Dev Stadium here on Saturday.

A feature of the contest was the excellent supervision by K. Sankar, who created a record of sorts by allotting ten minutes as injury time.

It was an uncharacteristic Mahindra United that played into the hands of its opposition. Some needless robust play meant the Mumbai team was not natural in its approach. The absence of N.P. Pradeep put extra burden on Harpreet Singh in defence even though Steven Dias and K. Ajayan played their hearts out in the middle. But it was not their night.

East Bengal shone through the match, very determined, disciplined and committed. Edmilson was in glowing form up front. In defence, Majek Bolaji and Surkumar Singh displayed unflappable concentration. Ashim Biswas and Dipendu Biswas were a menace but wayward when finishing. Syed Rahim Nabi was outstanding but Alvito D’Cunha surprisingly was subdued.

Edmilson returned after missing the semifinal due to a muscle tear and buried the opposition with his electrifying aggression. He had a marker in Sunil Kumar but he was shaken off nonchalantly.

Coming in from a one-match suspension, Sunil proved hazardous to his own team. He conceded a penalty by felling Edmilson and then attracted a red card by hacking the Brazilian in a moment of madness.

Gem of a goal

Edmilson was unrelenting. He scored off a penalty and struck again. This one was a gem. He broke through on the right and from the edge of the box, neatly lobbed the ball over an advancing Sandip Nandy, stranded and embarrassed by Edmilson’s magical strike.

The Mahindra defence, despite some hard work by Sushant Mathew and Dharmarajan Ravanan, was always short of space.

Excitement mounted when Mehrajuddin Wadoo emulated Sunil with a needless tripping of Minga Dico. The penalty was gleefully converted by Manjit Singh.

The game opened up in the second half which belonged to Mahindra but the equaliser remained elusive as Djiaja Pierre, Sukhwinder Singh and Mohammad Rafi spurned the opportunities.

East Bengal was a worthy winner, and as Bhattacharya put it, the triumph, fetching the team Rs. 12 lakhs, was a “tribute to our supporters for showing faith in us.”

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