Sleek Salgaocar overtake purring Pune FC in Durand final

Margao: In the battle between Ferrari and a ‘1930s Rolls-Royce Phantom Coupe’, the winner was as clear as daylight.
Salgaocar Football Club’s speed and precision was too much for Karim Bencherifa’s Pune FC as the Goan side walked away 1-0 victors in the final of the Durand Cup played for the first time in Goa at Raia sports complex on Saturday.
Bencherifa had tweeted about his delight at playing the final of Asia’s oldest football tournament -- and the world’s third oldest -- comparing the thrill to driving an almost century-old vintage car.But while Pune did make heads turn with their ‘model’, Salgaocar were fast and furious.
Saran Singh’s 21st-minute strike was the essential difference between the two sides, although the hosts never really looked threatened, except for a dozen-odd minutes at the end when Pune FC changed gears and threw caution to the wind.
The day belonged to Saran Singh, who was here, there and everywhere while operating from central midfield. He fittingly got the only goal of the match and left a lasting impression, that too when he was playing in a central midfield role for the first time. Always a late striking option during his days with Churchill Brothers, Saran’s speed makes him a potent weapon on the flanks but coach Derrick Pereira used his speed to good effect even in the centre of midfield.
The run that he made from the centre to intercept midfield partner Rocus Lamare’s through ball -- a class act -- leaving two defenders for dead and then slamming it past the goalkeeper was a marvellous back-to-front move.
Salgaocar had the more clinical edge at the start of the game as the presence of Douhou Pierre and Darryl Duffy gave them the edge upfront. But with tight-marking and little space on offer on a comparatively smaller field, the foreign duo spurned chances.
There were others who made attempts too: Augustine Fernandes’s diving header, captain Rocus Lamare’s left-footer and Gilbert Oliveira’s curling attempt, all missing the target by a whisker.
In sharp contrast, only Ryuji Sueoka looked like saving the day for Pune FC. The Japanese midfielder looked sharp, focused and hungry. When Karanjit Singh, the Salgaocar goalkeeper, used an all-too-familiar time-wasting tactic at the end, he was furious, throwing the ball away, kicking the ground and promptly earning himself a card.
Salgaocar coach Derrick Pereira has won the Durand Cup both as player and coach in the past but this will remain special. After all, the Durand is now captured on home soil, and it comes against Karim Bencherifa, who left Salgaocar midway into the 2012-13 season. Salgaocar, up until now, were without a trophy and, coincidentally for Derrick, it comes against a club he left to return home.
“This really means a lot,” said Salgaocar chairman Shivanand Salgaocar, who hugged each and every player on the field.
You only needed to look at his face for a taste of how good it felt.