Gangtok: Kolkata Giant Mohun Bagan defeated Calcutta Customs club 1-0 to win the 37th edition of the Sikkim Gold Cup at the Paljor stadium in Gangtok, sikkim on Sunday. Liberian forward Ansumana Kromah scored the only goal of the match in the 7th minute to bring up the win.
Playing against a relatively weak team and a side they have already beaten twice in the CFL this season, Bagan got on the attack right from the start and were rewarded early when Ansumana Kromah who has been in fine touch throughout the tournament scored an early goal in the 7th minute to give his side the lead. The Mariners could have scored more number of goals but fluffed a lot of chances that came their way, much to the dismay of their fans. Their best chance came in the 37th minute of the match however star forward Dipanda Dicka failed to put in an easy chance.
The second-half saw Customs initiate some promising attacks through the channels but failed to deliver a ball inside the net. Another chance went begging in the 68th match when Gurjinder Singh’s shot missed the post by a whisker.
The win will bring a relief in the hearts of Bagan fans ahead of the I-Ieague and considering that this is their first trophy of the season after losing out the CFL to arch-rivals East Bengal following the Kolkata derby draw, where the Mariners despite taking the lead twice in the match, could not hold on as East Bengal equalised. Bagan will however cheer about the win of Sikkim Gold Cup.
This was also their 10th Sikkim Gold trophy and first in 16 years since 2001. Liberian forward who scored four goals in the tournament was declare the man of the final match.
The win also culminates Bagan’s perfect preparation for the upcoming I-League scheduled to start next month in November. Coach Shankarlal Chakraborty happy with the victory said after the match, “We couldn’t celebrate during the Durga Puja as we lost the Calcutta Football League by a whisker. Now we will celebrate Diwali with this trophy.”