Mohammedan Sporting struck twice in extra-time to eke out a tense 4-2 win over a fighting FC Bengaluru United and enter the Durand Cup final at the Salt Lake Stadium on Monday.
Following a 2-2 stalemate in regulation time that saw the Bengaluru outfit go down to 10 men, substitute Brandon Vanlalremdika (103rd minute) put the local favourites in front.
Seven minutes later, it was their Serbian captain Nikola Stojanovic who put an end to the 120-minute thriller, guiding Mohammedan Sporting to their first final appearance since 2013.
Mohammedan Sporting, who were the first civilian club to win Asia’s oldest football tournament in 1940, have won the title twice, the last being in 2013.
The only local team in the tournament will face the winners of FC Goa and Bengaluru FC in the summit clash on October 3.
In front of a 25,000-plus crowd, Mohammedan Sporting were in for a shock with Bengaluru United scoring moments after the match began. Pedro Manzi fired Bengaluru United ahead in the first 20 seconds — one of the fastest goals in the history of the tournament — to stun the local crowd. But it took nine minutes for Mohammedan Sporting to bring it level with Marcus Joseph showing superb dribbling skills before finishing from a narrow angle.
The Trinidadian, who was adjudged Man of the Match, set it up for Faisal Ali in the 38th minute to make it 2-1. However, Kinshuk Debnath equalised for the Bengaluru side (78th minute) to bring the match on level terms.
There was more drama in store after Manzi was sent off after trying to score with his hand in injury-time.
The change that made all the difference though was the one made by Mohammedan Sporting coach Andrey Chernyshov in the 83rd minute when he brought in Mizoram winger Brandon Vanlalremdika to replace Shaikh Faiaz on the right.
The diminutive winger Brandon was in his element as he deceived two defenders with his clever dribbling skills and finished it from an acute angle.
There was a floodlight malfunction at one part of the stadium. The match started at 6.10pm instead of 6pm.
