The Hindu : Sport : Churchill clinches Durand Cup

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Thursday, Nov 08, 2007
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Churchill clinches Durand Cup

Principal Correspondent

Captain Odafe Onyeka Okolie nets the Goan club’s winner

— Photo: Sandeep Saxena

WAR CRY: Odafe Onyeka Okolie celebrates after scoring the winner for Churchill Brothers in the Durand Cup football tournament final on Wednesday.

NEW DELHI: Churchill Brothers provided a memorable finish to the 120th Durand Cup with a well-deserving 1-0 win over Mahindra United (Mumbai) at the Ambedkar Stadium here on Wednesday as the Goan team lifted the famous Cup for the first time in three attempts.

Again, just as it was in Churchill’s early matches, captain Odafe Onyeka Okolie was the architect of the triumph as he scored his 11th goal of the tournament — a spectacular effort in the 11th minute. Okolie, however, hobbled for most part of the second half after a collision during a tackle.

He missed the action for a while, but when Okolie returned, the striker pulled himself behind the midfielders and Churchill lost the cutting-edge that he provided.

Nonetheless, Mahindra was in no great shape to force any other result. Its strikers showed urgency very late in the game, but generally Steven Dias and Douhou Djidja Pierre, were scratchy in their attempts.

Churchill, which made it to the Durand Cup final in 2001-02 and lost 0-5 to Mahindra, finally had its way. Churchill pocketed the winner’s cheque of Rs. 8 lakh, while the runner-up settled for Rs. 6 lakh, the highest prize-money ever.

Gameplan

Knowing well Mahindra’s knack of wearing out the opposition, Churchill went for the kill early on.

Defender Naoba Singh raced up from the right and set up Mboyo Iyomi in the second minute. The Nigerian striker took big strides and slammed the ball into the net before he crashed badly onto the right post. The linesman raised his flag a little late to indicate off-side, while Iyomi lay flat on the ground in pain. Five minutes later, Okolie created a good chance for Reisangmi Vashum, who beat two defenders but Mahindra custodian, Sandeep Nandi, checked him.

Despite playing with a 4-4-2 formation, Mahindra struggled to control the Churchill frontline. In the 11th minute, D. Raju collected a back-pass and returned it to a waiting Okolie, who sprinted into the penalty box from between Sushant Mathew and Harpreet Singh and slotted in the goal.

Moment of glory

In his three years with Churchill after moving into Goa from Kolkata’s Mohammedan Sporting, this must be Okolie’s prized moment. He danced with his teammates after scoring the goal and was ecstatic when he received the Cup.

As for Mahindra, the goal upset its tactics. Midfielder K.A. Ajayan tried to sneak in from the left wing, but got warned for rough play.

Ajayan though created one chance, Mahindra’s lone attempt in the first half, when he found Dias through a long pass. But Dias couldn’t make the most of it when he was in a scoring position. That Mahindra was without the services of N.P. Pradeep and Gautam Debnath also affected the Mumbai team badly.

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