Kochi: Languishing at the bottom of the heap in the ongoing I-League, Churchill Brothers showed remarkable resilience as they outclassed a formidable Sporting Clube de Goa 3-1 to win their maiden Federation Cup title at the floodlit Nehru Stadium here on Saturday.
For the winners Balwant Singh (21st minute), Alesh Sawant (47th) and the tournament’s most consistent player, Abdel Hamid Shabana (65th minute), found the back of the net while Victorino Fernandes pulled one back for Sporting in the 67th minute.
In a battle between Goan giants, Sporting Clube, who are currently placed second in the 13-team I-League table, were favourites on paper but the Red Devils of Indian football have shocked one and all with some dominating performances, including their upset win over Kolkata giants Mohun Bagan in the semifinal.
Churchill Brothers bagged a purse of Rs 25 lakh while Sporting Clube, who proved to be third time unlucky, were richer by Rs 15 lakh.
Balwant broke the deadlock in the 21st minute when he collected a ball from Denzil Franco and with a deft feint sidestepped Joyner Lourenco before slotting it past custodian Ravi Kumar.
Churchill’s second goal came immediately after the break as an unmarked Sawant had all the time in the world to tap in an Anthony Wolfe shot after the Sporting defence failed to react and clear it in time.
Shabana, who was playing the perfect foil to Lenny Rodrigues, made it 3-0 in the 65th minute. The former collected a Thangjam Singh assist and placed it past Ravi Kumar.
Victorino Fernandes did pull one back for Sporting in the 67th minute when he tapped in Kalu’s through pass before Churchill goalkeeper Lalit Thapa could intercept it. (PTI)