East Bengal and Mahindra United booked berths in the final of the Nike Manchester United Premier Cup under-15 football tournament when then got past Mohun Bagan and JCT Football Academy respectively in the semi-finals at the Cooperage ground in Mumbai on Friday.
East Bengal rode on a fifth-minute strike from Bhim to lead 1-0 at half-time against city rivals Bagan, who conceded a self-goal, let in by goalkeeper Sudipta Banerjee off a corner kick by Biswajit Natte in the 12th minute of the second half and got eliminated.
In the other semi-final, Mahindra edged out JCT 4-1 via the tie-breaker after the teams were locked goalless after the regulation time.
In the spot-kick duel, Ansari Mohammed Fahad, Manohar Shakya, Dhiraj Meher and Cloycee Crasto scored for Mahindra while Bhupinder Singh found the mark for the losers.
The finalists earned berths in the South East Asian regional round to be held in May.
More from rediff