CUTTACK: East Bengal edged past Churchill Brothers by a solitary goal in the first semi-final to book their place in the finals of 32nd Federation Cup at the Barabati Stadium, here on Wednesday evening.

The all-important goal was scored by East Bengal’s Australian striker Tolgay Ozbey, who has been in sublime form as far as the tournament is concerned for the reigning champions.

It all started perfectly for East Bengal and as they went ahead in the match as early as in the 10th minute with Tolgay producing a neat finish off Harmanjot Khabra’s pass.

The Aussie striker could have put the match to bed, but he failed to convert from the spot after he was brought down by Churchill right wing back, Denzil Franco inside the box in the 22nd minute.

Churchill on the other hand, tried everything to level the terms and giving them a chance to be in the game, but in the end had to walk out dejectedly as they were knocked-out in the semi-final again. The Goan outfit made a surprising exit last year going down to Shillong Lajong FC and their hopes were dashed again as they failed to match the impressive East Bengal today.

It was also a job well done by the East Bengal defence especially with Uga Okpara in the heart of defence. The Nigerian had a severe check on Churchill’s prolific striker Odafe Onyeka Okolie, who once again saw his side crashing out of the Federation Cup.

Things went from bad to worse for the Goan giants as Denzil Franco was given the marching orders, following his second yellow card in the injury time.