Bagan eye revenge, Churchill 2nd title of season

I-League champions Churchill Brothers would look to pocket their second title of the season while Mohun Bagan will have revenge on mind when the two sides face-off in the final of the Durand Cup football tournament in New Delhi on Tuesday.

Churchill had beaten Mohun Bagan 2-0 in the final of the IFA Shield in Kolkata just 10 days ago and Karim Bencherifa's boys would want to settle scores on Tuesday.

Mohun Bagan has another record to chase as a win on Tuesday would make them the side with the most number of Durand Cup titles. If they beat Churchill, they will bag the third oldest football trophy in the world for the 17th time and go past their local rivals East Bengal who have 16 crowns.

Churchill's performance in the tournament so far has been far from pefect. They barely made it to the last four stage, drawing with unfancied Assam Rifles 1-1 after beating Sporting Clube de Goa 1-0 in their opening match.

They were at their best in the tournament against their Goan rivals Dempo in the semifinal with star striker Odafe Okolie coming up with an inspiring performance.

In contrast, Mohun Bagan's march to the semifinals was much more convincing. They thrashed ONGC 5-1, before prevailing over JCT 2-0. In the semifinal, they were the deserving winners, beating defending champions Mahindra United 2-1.

For Mohun Bagan, the strike duo of veteran Jose Ramirez Barretto and Nigerian Chidi Edeh have been clicked well.

Barretto did not play in the IFA Shield due to an injury but in their first tournament together, he and Chidi have scored six goals out of nine for Mohun Bagan.

Chidi is the leading goal scorer with four goals to his credit while Barretto has struck thrice so far.

On the other hand, Churchill will be hoping that their star striker Odafe comes up with his best on Tuesday. He showed glimpses of top form against Dempo in the semifinal.

With both teams having quality players upfront, eventually it will all boil down to the performance of players in the backline. Defenders on either side have their task cut out.