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With Mohammedan Sporting beating Mumbai FC 2-1 on Sunday, Churchill Brothers must now defeat Salgaocar in the final day of the 2013-14 Airtel I-League campaign on Monday to avoid the embarrassment of relegation. The battle for survival will be the highlight of this season’s final day but second place is also up for grabs with East Bengal needing a win to finish runners-up ahead of Salgaocar. Finishing second could earn a place in the AFC Cup so East Bengal, who face United SC, and Salgaocar still have plenty to play for.
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This season has been highly competitive at both ends of the table but the final day is unlikely to be the best-ever. Since the I-League started in 2007, the title has been decided on the final day on two previous occasions while the relegation places have been determined on three instances. Sportskeeda looks back at the final days of the previous six campaigns.
2007-08
February 23 2008
Ranti Martins and Beto were instrumental in Dempo’s 2007-08 league success
The title was undecided going into the final day of the inaugural season. Dempo and Churchill Brothers were level on points but Dempo led the table on goal difference. Armando Colaco’s side goal difference was +19 compared to Churchill Brothers’ +15. Dempo’s final fixture was an away clash against already-relegated Viva Kerala while Churchill Brothers were at home against Air India, who had survived but were third from bottom. Both Goan rivals were expected to win but Churchill Brothers had to better Dempo’s margin of triumph by three goals. Eventually both sides recorded three-goal margin victories with Churchill Brothers winning 3-0 and Dempo 4-1. It was enough to see Dempo retain the title and record their third league success.
2008-09
April 16 2009
Churchill Brothers celebrated their first-ever league triumph at the expense of Mohammedan Sporting’s relegation
Both the title race and relegation battle remained unresolved going into the season finale. Churchill Brothers and Mohun Bagan were in contention for the title with both sides level on points but the Goan club were leading due to a better goal difference. The battle for survival had five teams in it with two sides to go down to the second division. Air India were at the top of the bottom five, followed by United SC, JCT, Mohammedan Sporting and Vasco. The bottom two – Mohammedan Sporting and Vasco – had to depend on results of the other three with Mohammedan’s final game being against league leaders Churchill Brothers. Vasco though were up against a direct rival in United SC with Air India and JCT having home games against Sporting Clube and Mumbai FC respectively.
Mohun Bagan had a tough away assignment against Mahindra United so East Bengal – Dempo clash was the only inconsequential tie among the six final day fixtures. Mohun Bagan needed a favour from Mohammedan Sporting but the Mariners themselves lost 2-1 to Mahindra to end their hopes of a title. Churchill Brothers thrashed Mohammedan Sporting 6-2 to not only clinch their first-ever title but also relegate the Kolkata giants. JCT managed a narrow 1-0 win over Mumbai to ensure their survival and United SC also avoided relegation by thumping Vasco 4-1 in Goa. That saw Vasco get relegated so Air India survived despite the 3-1 loss to Sporting Clube.
2009-10
May 28 2010
Khalid Jamil guided Mumbai to safety in his very first season by securing a win on the final dayPhoto Credit: Mumbai FC
Dempo had already clinched the title but it was a five-way relegation battle going into the final round of fixtures. Viva Kerala ensured their survival with a 1-1 away draw against East Bengal on the penultimate day of the campaign but four teams – Mumbai FC, Air India, Shillong Lajong and Sporting Clube de Goa – were still unsafe with only two to get relegated. The fixtures of all four teams were set for simultaneous kickoffs on the final day but only Air India and Mumbai FC had their fate in their own hands with the bottom two of Lajong and Sporting Clube depending on other results. Only Mumbai FC had a home fixture while the other three had away outings.
Sporting Clube had the least chance to survive as they not only needed to win but also required Mumbai and Lajong to lose. Sporting Clube certainly did their job as they won 1-0 away at Kolkata’s United Sports Club but other results didn’t go their way. Lajong had to better Mumbai’s result but the north-east club lost 3-1 away at Salgaocar while Khalid Jamil’s Mumbai side survived by winning 2-0 at home against Mohun Bagan. Just like the 2008-09 campaign, Air India suffered a heavy defeat on the last day as they were beaten 5-1 by Churchill Brothers but they still survived with Sporting Clube and Shillong Lajong going down.
2010-11
June 1 2011
HAL survived by the finest of margins
The last full round of fixtures bizarrely wasn’t the season finale for some teams as they had a game in hand left to be played. In that last full round though the title was decided with Salgaocar being crowned champions while ONGC were relegated following a 2-2 draw with Mumbai FC. ONGC had actually finished level on points with JCT and Air India but the other two were placed above them in the table based on results among those three teams. But JCT were not safe yet as a fourth team was in the relegation battle and that was Bangalore’s Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL). JCT had finished their campaign with a 2-0 defeat away to Salgaocar but they needed HAL to drop points in the last day of the season against Dempo.
The odds were stacked against HAL as mighty Dempo had home advantage and two days ago thumped Air India 14-0. But despite trailing at the break, HAL showed great character to fight back and win 4-2 with Xavier Vijaykumar bagging a second-half brace. The bottom four were level on points but Air India and HAL survived as the two were placed above JCT and ONGC in the mini head-to-head table involving the four clubs. JCT also eventually got disbanded. That defeat cost Dempo the runners-up spot, which was taken by East Bengal following their 2-1 win over United SC on the same day. With Salgaocar winning the Federation Cup later that year, East Bengal actually qualified for the AFC Cup thanks to their second-place finish.
2011-12
There was no drama or excitement in the final day as Dempo had already sealed their record-fifth title while Chirag United Kerala and HAL were relegated with two rounds to spare.
2012-13
Another low-key final day of the campaign as Churchill Brothers were already crowned champions while the relegation of Air India and United Sikkim were also confirmed earlier in the campaign.
