A quick move by East Bengal's star striker Baichung Bhutia led to the goal in the 70th minute that provided one of the few bright spots in a mediocre match hampered by heavy ground conditions at the Kanchenjunga Stadium.

East Bengal, who made their fifth successive final, meet the winners of the other semifinal between city rivals Mohun Bagan and Mohammedan Sporting. The final is scheduled for September 13.

East Bengal disappointed thousands of fans with a spate of wasted opportunities in the first half. But that is not to detract from a sturdy Churchill defence in which Ghanaian Husseni Osumanu stood out.

East Bengal's domination in the first half failed to yield results as both forwards Baichung Bhutia and Dipendu Biswas slipped and fell at crucial moments. A slushy patch just inside theChurchill box made the going even more difficult for the Calcutta side.

East Bengal, as usual, built their moves from the left although left-back Ratan Singh was not effective on the wet ground, left-half Renedy Singh was doing most of the hard work. Renedy put his strikers through on at least four occasions but all were nullified by the wet ground and Osmanu.

With the ball barely rising off the ground, aerial balls were the order of the day. Both teams wisely went for the high balls although Churchill could never get close to their opponents' goal. The few attempts that Cyril Barreto and Mario Soares took were all long rangers.

East Bengal brought in skipper Tushar Rakshit and striker Raman Vijayan after the break and it added teeth to the attack.

Before long, East Bengal were a goal to the good after Renedy struck in a goalmouth melee.