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 tonight.
For the winners Balwant Singh (21st minute), Alesh Sawant (47th) and tournament's most consistent player Abdel Hamid Shabana (65th minute) found the back of the net while Victorino Fernandes pulled one back for Clube in the 67th minute.
In a battle between Goan giants, Clube, who are currently placed second in the 13-team 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 semi-final.
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 Clibe custodian Ravi Kumar. This was Balwant's fourth goal in the tournament and his performance will surely attract attention of national coach Wim Koevermans.
Churchill's second goal came immediately after the break as an unmarked Sawant had all the time in world to tap in an Anthony Wolfe centre after the Sporting defence failed to react and clear it in time.
Shabana, who till then, 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. But it didn't change the fortune of the match.
