33rd Federation Cup: Grand Finale on the Cards

The grand finale of the 33rd Federation Cup will be played tomorrow at the Saltlake Stadium in Kolkata with I-League winners Salgaocar SC taking on defending Fed Cup champions East Bengal Club. An interesting contest is on the cards between the two sides who fought closely for the I-League title last season. It is also a match-up of master tacticians Karim Bencharifa from Morocco and Englishman Trevor Morgan.

For East Bengal it will be the rare chance of winning a Fed Cup treble, which has only been achieved by archrivals Mohun Bagan between 1992 and 1994. The red-and-gold had earlier won the 2009 title in Guwahati and 2010 in Cuttack. A win at home in Kolkata would complete their East India treble. Overall it will be their 15th final having won the title on seven occasions.

For Salgaocar it will be their seventh final and if they win their fourth title. The last time they won the title in 1997 against East Bengal at the Saltlake Stadium. So 14 years on it means same opponent, same venue. The result in 1997 had been a 2-1 win and a repeat this time around would make Karim Bencharifa surely a happy man.

Both sides have had a mixed Federation Cup. East Bengal won their Group C with a 1-1 draw against Mohammedan Sporting and then wins against Pune FC (2-1) and Dempo SC (1-0). In the semifinals they somehow scraped through 2-1 against Prayag United SC. While Salgaocar SC drew their opening game goalless against Mumbai FC but then won convincingly against HAL (4-0) and Pailan Arrows (3-0). In the semifinals they needed a last minute Chidi Edeh goal against Shillong Lajong FC to move into the final.

The red-and-gold are set to miss influential midfielder Mehtab Hossain due to a groin injury while youngster Raju Gaikwad is also sidelined, but Trevor Morgan will welcome Robin Singh back from a suspension. The question will be who will fill in for Mehtab, then so far Trevor Morgan hasn't found a suitable replacement who can guide the team from the middle of the park, but what has been on East Bengal's side throughout the tournament is luck.

What makes Salgaocar so strong at the moment is the fact that they haven't conceded a goal so far in the tournament. Karanjit Singh has rarely been tested in goal with solid defence lead by Brazilian Luciano Sabrosa, while further upfront Chidi Edeh and Ryuji Sueoka will be needed to score.

With Salgaocar SC already qualified for Asian continental competition as the I-League champions, the AFC Cup spot for winning the Federation Cup automatically goes to East Bengal for reaching the Fed Cup final.

The Final will kick-off at 18.00 IST at the Saltlake Stadium, Kolkata. DD Sports along with News Time Bangla and News Time Assam will be broadcasting the final match live.