Durand Cup: FC Goa clinch maiden trophy after beating Mohammedan Sporting in final

Kolkata: Indian Super League side FC Goa claimed their maiden Durand Cup football tournament title after a 1-0 win over local giants Mohammedan Sporting in the summit clash on Sunday. Captain Eduardo Bedia scored the all-important goal from a set piece in the 105th minute after the final match went into the extra time in front of 34,000 spectators at the Vivekananda Yuba Bharati Krirangan. The Durand Cup crown also marked FC Goa coach Juan Ferrando Fenoll’s first-ever trophy on Indian soil. Though both the teams began with attacking intent, they failed to keep possession for longer durations. The first shot of the match came from Marcus Joseph in the third minute but it was wayward. Soon after, FC Goa created a chance but a mix-up between Nemil and Romario in the box led to an easy save for the Mohammedan SC keeper. Mohammedan were at the receiving end of the cards as they received three yellow cards within a span of 17 minutes with the names Azharuddin Mallick, Nikola Stojanovic and Shaher Shaheen going into the book. FC Goa’s Romario had the best chance of the half when the Mohammedan defence was completely foxed by a cross from Sanson Pereira from the left flank. But Romario sent the shot wide of the goal post. The second half saw FC Goa dominating possession but the same wasn’t resulting in concrete chances as they were losing the ball far too easily in the final third. The last few minutes saw some moments of excitement. Mohammedan made some good runs down the left flank but again failed to make them count. In the injury time, Redeem Tlang came close to scoring the first goal but the angle was too steep and the ball went across the face of the goal. With scores tied at 0-0 at the end of the regulation time, the final went into extra time. As the first half of the extra-time was looking like be goal-less yet again, Bedia delivered for his side. The FC Goa captain scored from a fantastic free-kick awarded just outside the Mohammedan box in the 105th minute owing to a foul by Milan Singh. FC Goa got richer by Rs 40 lakh for winning the title while Mohammedan Sporting received Rs 20 lakh. The losing semi-finalists FC Bengaluru United and Bengaluru FC got Rs 5 lakh each. FC Goa were awarded the President’s Cup for permanent keeping along with two rolling trophies of the Durand Cup and the Shimla Trophy.