Mahindra United survived yet another penalty shootout today to pip Salgaocar 4-2 and set up a summit clash with Churchill Brothers in the final of the Osian's Durand Cup football tournament.
Mahindra reached the final with the dubious distinction of scoring just one goal in regulation time in the entire tournament so far.
Meanwhile, Churchill grounded Air India 3-2 after twice coming back from a deficit.
International Gourmangi Singh (17th minute), Nigerian Mboyo Iyomi (35th) and his compatriot Odafe Onyeka Okolie (81st) scored for Churchill while Dhanchandra Singh (seventh minute) and Santosh Koli (27th) found the target for Bimal Ghosh's team.
While Mahindra will try to add to their two Durand titles (1998 and 2001), it will be the first final for Churchill.
The Mahindra-Salgaocar match did not see any goals over 120 minutes of open play and neither side seemed likely to get on the scoresheet.
Derrick Pereira's Mahindra, in fact, have reached the title match with back-to-back tie-breaker victories over Sporting Clube-de-Goa and Salgaocar. They had done the same in the Federation Cup in Ludhiana where they reached the final after winning two matches in the same manner.
Their only goal in regulation time also came via a penalty against Border Security Force.
For a change, regular goalkeeper Sandip Nandy was between the posts in the tie-breaker and not Subhashish Roychowdhury, who saw the team home in the previous match.
Salgaocar players had only themselves to blame as skipper Rocus Lamare and Shylo Malswamtlunga sent their kicks way over the target and did not force Nandy to make a save. Nigerian Felix Chimaokwu and Joe Rodrigues were successful, but it was to no avail in the end for Savio Medeira's team.
For Mahindra, Ghanain Yusuf Yakubu, Harpreet Singh, Douhou Sey Djidja Pierre from the Ivory Coast and Sunil Kumar found the target.
The match itself was a forgettable affair with Mahindra and Salgaocar cancelling each other.
Both teams played their quarterfinals yesterday and looked visibly short of energy and ideas.
There was dearth of goalmouth action and the closest any team came to scoring was in first half injury time when Mahindra's Ghanaian import Andrews Pomeyie Mensah hit the post when a long throw by Sunil Kumar was flicked on by Manjit Singh.
The second half of the match was especially lacklustre with two sides seemingly content with proceedings without exerting themselves.
Internationals Krishnan Ajayan and Steven Dias looked a shadow of themselves with the only chance coming in the 56th minute when Arata Izumi, the Japanese player of Indian origin heading wide off a Manjit cross.
The game inevitably went into extra time and Mahindra again squandered a good chance when Ghanain Yusuf Yakubu, who looked much slower than he was in his prime, fed Douhou Sey Djidja Pierre in the penalty box, but the Ivory Coast player made a weak attempt which did not trouble Marcus Basumatari in the Salgaocar goal.
Earlier, Okolie scored the winner with nine minutes left on the clock.
Air India went ahead early when Dhanchandra Singh headed in a Koli free-kick from the left flank.
The Goan outfit, which had swept all before it in the previous two matches, were shocked into launching repeated attacks and drew level 10 minutes later.
A beautifully flighted free-kick from outside the area by Okolie invited international Gourmangi to attack it. The defender's first attempt from close range was blocked by custodian Raju Ekka but the rebound went in off Gourmangi's body.
The match had really opened up and Air India regained the lead through another setpiece.
A free-kick from Nepoleon Singh from near the right touchline was headed back into the danger area by Nigerian Bashiru Abbas and a diving Koli managed to put it in with his head past goalkeeper Vinay Singh.
Churchill coach Mario Soares then replaced custodian Vinay with Lalit Thapa.
His team came back for a second time when Okolie weaved his way into the box. His shot was parried by Ekka but compatriot Mboyo Iyomi was at the far post to knock the rebound in the unguarded net.
The winner came late in the match when Okolie showed a burst of speed to take a long aerial ball and beat the attending defender. Ekka saw the danger and advanced to thwart the Nigerian but Okolie went past him in a flash and rounded off defender Uttam Singh to find an empty net.
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