Minerva Punjab celebrate winning the I-League.
Panchkula, March 8 (IANS): Minerva Punjab FC created history by defeating Churchill Brothers FC 1-0 to win their maiden I-League title on a nail-biting final day of the tournament here on Thursday.
William Opoku Asiedu scored the decisive goal in the 16th minute and the Punjab-based outfit held on to the advantage till the end.
Minerva thus became the first team from Punjab to win the title since the 1996-97 season when now defunct JCT claimed the inaugural National Football League (NFL), which was later re-christened as the I-League.
Minerva finished their campaign with 35 points from their full quota of 18 matches.
Top division debutants Neroca FC finished at the second spot with 32 points following a 1-1 draw with East Bengal in Kolkata.
Mohun Bagan meanwhile, took the third spot with 31 points after being held 1-1 by a spirited Gokulam Kerala FC in Kozhikode.
Mohun Bagan have accumulated the same number of points as East Bengal, but sit one spot above their arch-rivals due to a better head-to-head record courtesy their wins in both legs of the Kolkata derby.
Mohun Bagan striker Asier Pierrick Dipanda Dicka finished as the highest scorer this season with 13 goals to his name.
Two-time champions Churchill Brothers, meanwhile, have been relegated. They finished second from bottom in the 10-team league ladder with a mere 17 points from their 18 matches.
All three matches kicked off at the same time at three different venues.
Minerva Punjab started the first half really well. Their attacking trio of Chencho Gyeltshen, William Asiedu and Girik Khosla combined really well to put the Churchill defence under pressure.
The decisive goal came when William converted from point blank range after a rebound from Girik's shot.
Minerva should have doubled their lead in 64th minute when Kassim played one two with Chencho but Chencho's following cross towards Sangwan, who was unmarked, went out for a goal kick.
Both teams failed to created clear chances in the final minutes as the local fans celebrated a historic triumph.
Meanwhile in Kolkata, East Bengal saw their heroic attempt to win their maiden I-League title come to a tearful end.
Their wait for the national league crown also extended to a whopping 14 years as their last title triumph came in the 2003-04 season when the tournament was still called the NFL.
Felix Chidi (42nd minute) gave Neroca the lead shortly before half-time while Dudu Omagbemi (73rd) found the equaliser for East Bengal late in the second half.
