It’s Churchill versus Dempo in Fed Cup semis

With Churchill Brothers and Mahindra United locked on four points from Group B, their respective matches — against HAL and Mohammaden Sporting — were played simultaneously today, as per the new rules.

At Barasat, an intense battle was fought between the two sides, and till 10 minutes into the second-half, the Jeepmen were coasting 4-0 and were hurtling towards the semis berth when news came in that Churchill made it 5-0 against HAL. Expectedly, pressure caught up with the Derrick Perreira’s boys at Barasat.

Mohammadan Sporting then banged in two goals in the closing minutes to oust Mahindra United from the 16-team championship, which is being played for the first time on a league-cum-knock-out basis. The Group B toppers, Churchill Brothers, will lock horns with I-League champions Dempo on December 18, for a place in the Federation Cup title clash, which will be held on December 21.

Churchill drew first blood in the fifth minute through Bineesh Balan, who went on to score a brace. Odafe began the rout with a 16th minute goal, while Ogba Kalu Nnana made it 3-0 just a minute later.

After the changeover, the floodgates again opened up for Churchill Brothers as Odafe scored his second in the 61st minute to see their side go 4-0 up. Four minutes later, Balan did the damage as HAL were shown no mercy at the YBK.

A penalty conversion by Odafe in the 81st minute took his personal tally to three goals, and the scoreline to 6-0, as Churchill assured themselves of the semis berth. Just two minutes before the final whistle, Odafe yet again and made it a whopping 7-0.

At Barasat, Mahindra United dominated Mohammadan Sporting right from the start. In the 16th minute, Mohammadan Sporting received their first jolt when their ace defender Anit Ghosh brought down Manjit Singh to be awarded a free-kick.

To add to their woes, Anit injured his right leg in the tussle and was ruled out from the defence line-up. That set the ball rolling for Mahindra, who scored through the free-kick, which was taken by Steven Dias from outside the penalty box.

Dias’ shot landed near the goalmouth melee but Mohammadan Sporting defence and Mahindra striker Chidi Edeh, who had positioned themselves brilliantly, were beaten by the bounce, as the ball hit the upright to curve into the net in the 17th minute.

Having missed a chance in the 13th minute when he hit the cross bar, Edeh, however, was on target in the 33rd minute, taking advantage of the loose defence in absence of Anit as the Mumbai side went into the second half 2-0 up.

After the change of ends, a deft touch from Sheikh Azim of Mohammadan Sporting was enough for Mahindra’s Mohammad Rafi to pull down as referee A Arjunan awarded a penalty. Cashing in on the opportunity, Rafi cleared past Tharangachan Tungshang in the 56th minute to see Mahindra go 3-0 up.

Eleven minutes later, another penalty was awarded, this time at the edge of the box to infuriate Mohammadan Sporting players who went on to the extent of threatening the referee who later booked Satyajit Bose and R Amla Francis Nova in a series of yellow card decisions. But the protest was not enough to stop Mahindra United from going 4-0 up through the penalty conversion by Edeh in the 68th minute.

With 4-0 up they almost booked their place in the knockout but Pereira’s men while attacking let loose their defence, a brief lapse which cost them a place in the next round. A freekick earned Mohammadan Sporting their first goal as Mohammad Shahid headed it home to reduce the margin. The goal was enough to put pressure on coach Perreira who

kept on shouting “buck up” from the edges but news crept in that at the YBK, Churchill were coasting to a 7-0 win over HAL. As if that was not enough, Mohammadan Sporting scored their second goal, this time in the added first minute after the regulation time.

Replacing Satyajit Bose, Vimal Pariyar did a Beckham, as the curve in his freekick was enough to beat the Mahindra United line of defence.

With two teams each from Group A and B decided for the semi-final stage, the league of Group C and D will begin from tomorrow. JCT will take on current I-League leaders Sporting Clube de Goa, while Kolkata giants East Bengal will face qualifiers New Delhi Heroes in the Group C openers tomorrow. Group D, which features Mohun Bagan, Vasco SC, Air India and qualifiers Oil India Limited, will open their matches on Friday.