Mohun Bagan win Rovers Cup

S. Ayyappa Swamy

In an apparent bid to break their title-jinx, Goan champions Zee Churchill Brothers players offered flowers to the spectators right round the rectangle. Earlier, twice in the Rovers Cup they finished runners-up and also ended up as the No.2 team in the National Football League on as many occasions.

On Tuesday, at the 100th Rovers Cup football final, it was no different for them as they lost 0-2 to oft-crowned champions McDowell Mohun Bagan in a pulsating final at the Cooperage, in Bombay.

Jayanta Sen scored a beauty in the 18th minute and Dulal Biswas doubled the tally in the closing stages of the match. Ironically, both scorers are midfielders.

For Mohun Bagan, it was their 14th victory in 24 final appearances while Churchill finished runners-up for the third time.

Significantly, Mohun Bagan, who last won the Rovers Cup in 1992, are claiming the grand double of Durand and Rovers titles for the first time since 1985.

With Debjit Ghosh (2 yellow cards) and Joao Santos (injured) not available, the pressure was on Mohun Bagan, who had got past arch rivals East Bengal in a crunch semi-final. On the other side were Uzbeki Igor Shkvirin and Francis Silveira, the No. 1 and 2 scorers of the 4th National Football League.

But luck was not on Churchill's side at all. Once Hussain Mustafi saved a certain goal off a Silveira last-ditch effort and then again the striker's header was palmed away by the tall Mohun Bagan goalkeeper, Bivash Ghosh. In the closing stages, an Andre Requena header crashed against the bar much to the dismay of the Churchill supporters who had specially come from Goa to cheer the team.

But the Mohun Bagan supporters far outnumbered those of Churchill and their side played with perfect understanding and co-ordination to unsettle their rivals. Brazilian Jose Barretto, who got the player of the tournament award worth Rs. 51,000, was a revelation, though at times he did overplay and was lucky not to get booked by referee P. Bhaskar of Tamil Nadu.

Mohun Bagan surged ahead to a thunderous applause in the 18th minute through a peach of an effort from right wing-half Sen, who essayed a first-timer off an Amitava Chandra pass, to comprehensively beat Churchill goalkeeper Edward Ansah. Normally, the Ghanian is quite sure of his movements but he had no answer to this shot as the ball went to the far post after swinging away from his outstretched hands.

With their supporters already rejoicing with mashals and crackers, Mohun Bagan increased the tally after Requena had missed the header. Rajindra Prasad Singh won the ball from Farooque Haider but his shot was saved by Ansah. Singh got the rebound and backpassed to Biswas, who made no mistake with a simple placement.

Mohun Bagan won Rs 250,000 while Churchill got Rs 150,000.

Photographs: Jewella Miranda