Minerva Punjab had come into this match needing a win to seal the title with Neroca FC, East Bengal and Mohun Bagan all breathing down their neck. (Source: I League)
Minerva Punjab beat Churchill Brothers 1-0 to win their maiden I-League title. The Panchkula based side took the lead through a first-half strike from William Opoku and held on to it until the final whistle. They had come into this match needing a win to seal the title with Neroca FC, East Bengal and Mohun Bagan all breathing down their neck. All three teams also had their final matches of the season in what turned out to be a dramatic final match day.
Minerva started the match on 32 points and Neroca were placed second on 31. Neroca were playing East Bengal, who were on 30 points, at the Salt Lake Stadium in Kolkata. Mohun Bagan, level on points with East Bengal, were playing away from home to Gokulam Kerala. All three matches had the same kick-off time and it was Minerva who scored first among the title contenders. East Bengal missed a number of chances in the first half, including one in front of an open goal and Neroca took advantage of that to take the lead. The home side did eventually equalise and the match ended all square. Mohun Bagan took the lead in the first half in Kozhikode but Gokulam Kerala, who enjoyed an upturn in fortunes during the latter stages of the season, equalised. Neither of the two sides were able to pull ahead, leading to another 1-1 scoreline.
It didn’t matter though, as a Minerva win put it mathematically beyond the other three teams to reach the top spot. Minerva weren’t dominating the ball but were proving to be deadly on the counter. It was on one such instance that William Opoku managed to score after two shots on target from point-blank range were blocked by the opposition. By the time the ball came to William, the goalkeeper and defenders were all caught out and he only needed to take control of the ball before turning into an empty net. It was Minerva’s first goal in three matches.
Churchill threatened to score a number of times during the latter stages of the match and Minerva put almost every man behind the ball. They saw through the six added minutes to become the first team from North India to win the I-League since JCT did so in 1996/97.
Minerva Punjab had come into this match needing a win to seal the title with Neroca FC, East Bengal and Mohun Bagan all breathing down their neck. (Source: I League)
