Date:22/12/2006 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2006/12/22/stories/2006122208142200.htm

Sport - Football

Bagan in last eight

Principal Correspondent

KOLKATA: Mohun Bagan ensured a quarterfinal berth by defeating Viva Kerala 4-1 in the last pre-quarterfinal of the Federation Cup football at the Salt Lake Stadium on Thursday evening. Baichung Bhutia and attacking midfielder Mehtab Hussain shared the four Bagan goals while Babatunde scored the only goal for the Kerala side.

Bagan will meet Churchill Brothers in the quarterfinals at the same venue on Sunday.

Earlier, Churchill Brothers grounded the hopes of Air-India drubbing the latter 3-0 in the seventh pre-quarterfinal match.

All the goals came in the first half as the Nigerian combination of George Ekeh, who scored twice, and Okolie Odafa, who opened the scoring, combined well in the Churchill attack to help the Goan team enter the quarterfinals.

Shaky defending

The first half was all about the three goals that Churchill scored. For Air-India — playing its second tournament after the Durand Cup in Delhi — it was a story of shaky defending that allowed its opponent to score from three out of the five attacks it could bring together. Employing two Africans — Abiodom Martins and Femi Adeola — in the deep defence proved a costly affair as the two failed to provide the requisite cover against the rampaging Churchill attackers.

The first two goals determined the fate of the match. Odafa gained the lead with an angular shot in the sixth minute.