Denied by Mohun Bagan defenders as well as the referee in regulation time, Churchill Brothers skipper Odafa Okolie struck thrice in the extra time to lead his team to the Durand Cup title with a 3-1 victory.

In a thrilling final, a record 27th for Bagan, the Kolkata club took the lead in the 95th minute when Chidi Edeh scored from a header off Subhojit Majumdar’s free-kick. But buoyed by the advantage, they pushed the pedal further instead of holding the ball, quite unlike what they’d done against Mahindra United in their semi-final win. In the process, Bagan set the most dangerous man on the field free and Odafa punished them within five minutes.

Running through the open midfield and trudging past the Bagan stoppers, the Nigerian directed Charan Rai’s cross from the left wing to Sangram Mukherjee’s right and the Bagan goalkeeper reacted late.

But Churchill — or Odafa, to be more precise — didn’t want to leave it to the penalty shootout. In the 105th minute, he headed in a rebound off the Bagan goalkeeper to put the team ahead. It wasn’t Mukherjee’s fault this time, as his defence had exposed him to strikes from Reisangmi Vashum and Rai from either post.

Panic button

With time no longer an ally, Bagan coach Karim Bencherifa pushed the panic button as striker Branco Cardozo came in for left back Mohanraj.

What Bagan didn’t do after taking the lead, Churchill did — they parked a bus in front of the goal, throwing all strategies out of the window. Except for Odafa the rest of the nine players were inside the box to stop Bagan from scoring. In desperation, the Kolkata club, trailing for the first time in the tournament, let the poacher loose again.

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