Mohun Bagan sets up a final clash with Churchill Brothers after edging past Mahindra United 2-1 in the second semifinal played at the Ambedkar Stadium today.
Chidi put his team ahead within the first 20 minutes after both the sides missed several chances to take the lead. Mohammed Rafi pulled one back for Mahindra, but the Nigerian striker took advantage of some lax defending to head his side to victory. The Kolkata club will have revenge on their mind when they face Churchill Brothers in the final, having recently lost the IFA Shield to the Goans.
Mohun Bagan came into the semi-final on the back of some impressive performances, but it was Mahindra who had the better of the first-half. Both sides went on the attack from the start, with Sushil Kumar Singh coming close in the 17th minute. However, the India international had a disappointing game and he was to rue the miss two minutes later.
A cross from Lukram James Singh was headed down in the box by Jose Ramirez Barreto for Chidi to smash it into the net past Mahindra keeper, Subhashish Roy Choudhary.
The trio of James, Barreto and Chidi caused the Mumbai side's defence plenty of trouble on the right throughout the match. In contrast, Mohammed Rafi and Sushil Kumar lacked the quality to convert the chances provided by the hard-working Mahindra midfield.
Soon after the opening goal, the match turned into a scrappy affair, with neither team able to seize the initiative. Frequent fouls from both sides interrupted the flow of the match, though Chidi went close with a header in the 32nd minute.
The second-half also started just like the first, with both sides playing at a fast pace. Mahindra showed more purpose and an impressive Steven Dias was unlucky to see his free-kick parried away by Bagan custodian Sangram Mukherjee in the 54th minute, and then again four minutes later.
However, yet another superb delivery from Dias finally paid dividends for Mahindra in the 70th minute, with the tireless Rafi heading in the equalizer. The goal only spurred on Mohun Bagan though, and the Kolkata giants' pressure bore fruit 13 minutes from time.
A swerving free-kick from James foxed Subhashish, who dived back to somehow keep the ball out. That effort deserved a goal, which came from the resulting corner. James himself provided the cross, which Chidi converted to bag his second goal of the night.
Bagan then held on to make their 27th Durand Cup final, their last appearance coming in 2004. Come Tuesday, and they might be celebrating their record 17th victory in the oldest football tournament in India, and the third-oldest in the world.
Source: ESPNStar.com
From the archive. First published on footballkerala.com on Sunday 20 September 2009, restored from the site's 2012 database. Text as originally published.