Kolkata: Brazilian Jose Barreto's second-half strike propelled city giants Mohun Bagan to the 30th Federation Cup football tournament title with a 1-0 win over Goan outfit Dempo Sports Club in Kolkata on Sunday.
The Brazilian found the target in the 68th minute, exploiting a goalkeeping lapse and capping a day of domination for Mohun Bagan before 40,000 spectators at the Salt Lake Stadium. It was a sweet revenge for the Kolkata side, which had gone down to the Goan outfit in the 2004 edition final.
Dempo, considered pre-match favourites, seemed completely off-colour with their two key upfronters Ranty Martins and Beto policed to submission by Bagan's Deepak Mondal and Marcos Pereira. The visitors were, in fact, reduced to ten men for the last 11 minutes after Ranty was shown the second yellow for a foul on Pereira.
The winner came after Lalam Puiya launched into a run from the left and cut inside the box, but his effort was thwarted by Dempo goalkeeper Satish Kumar for a corner.
Lal Kamal Bhowmick's measured setpiece was misjudged by Satish, and Habibur set it up for Barreto with a header. The seasoned campaigner found the target with a rasping side-volley.
Mohun Bagan, who lifted the Federation Cup for the 13th time to bolster their enviable record in the tournament, played a well-coordinated game, and could have ended the match with a larger margin had they converted the chances which they got. Puiya himself missed at least three chances.
The story of muffed-up opportunities began in the 16th minute when a good build up saw Ishfaq Ahmed feed Puiya, who failed to score. Thirteen minutes later, Ishfaq crossed from the left, but Satish collected in time.
Busy defending, Dempo got their first flag kick in the 26th minute, before getting the first look at the Mohun Bagan goal in the 32nd when Ranty entered the box avoiding Dipak, but the local team's custodian Sangram Mukherjee rushed out, narrowed the angle and picked the ball up from the Nigerian's feet.
A little later, Barreto again fed Lalam Puiya, but the latter failed to connect from near the six-yard box.
Crossing over, Dempo got a chance, but Joachim Abranches shot ballooned over.
Soon after, Puiya was again in the limelight twice in the 52nd and 53rd minutes. He missed from eight yards, while Satish brought off a fine save to stop the striker's header .
After conceding the goal, Dempo tried to snatch control, but could create only one chance in the 73rd minute, when Ranty's shot was too high.
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