Kochi: Egyptian attacking midfielder Abdelhamid Shabana set up one and scored the winner as Churchill Brothers defeated Eagles FC 2-1 in a Group A match at the Jawaharlal Stadium here today to become the first club to book their place in semifinals of 35th Federation Cup.
After a goalless first half, Balwant Singh gave Churchill Brothers the lead from a Shabana freekick but Eagles equalised through Sakibo.
However Shabana confirmed the Goan club's berth in the last four with a sumptuous freekick after Eagles' Charles Dzisah had been sent off for a second yellow.
In another Group A match here, a second half strike from Baldeep Singh saw United SC beat Pune FC 1-0.
It was a must-win game for both sides but in the end the Kolkata side triumphed to remain in contention for a semi-final place.
The first half saw very little goalmouth action as neither side created too many openings.
Mike Snoei replaced James Meyer with Gabriel Fernandes at the interval but that substitution didn't really change Pune's fortunes as they struggled to create chances from open play.
United SC then suffered a blow as Ranti Martins went off with an injury and was replaced by Baldeep Singh.
The deadlock was finally broken by United SC when Eric Brown went past Othallo Tabia on the left and found Baldeep (71st) in the area and the substitute scored past Amrinder.
In Manjeri, second half goals from Josimar da Silva (75th) and substitute Rakesh Masih (90+2) kept alive Mohammedan Sporting's semi-final hopes as they downed lowly Bhawanipore FC 2-0 in a Group D match.
Josimar scored off Manish Maithani's corner after Nabi fed the ball for the Brazilian inside the six-yard area.
Mohammedan Sporting saw their lead getting doubled deep into second half stoppage time as substitute Rakesh Masih sent home a splendid left-footed long ranger that dipped into the net.The second-division side did not trouble Mohammedan Sporting at all after that and were insipid throughout the match.
Mohammedan Sporting have three points from two matches while Bhawanipore are out of the competition having failed to register a win in their two outings.
In another Group D match at Manjeri, Australian striker Tolgay Ozbey marked his debut with a double either side of halftime as Dempo SC trounced lacklustre United Sikkim.
Dempo now need a draw against Mohammedan Sporting on Monday to advance to the semifinals owing to better goal difference.
Brazilian Roberto Mendes Silva opened the scoring for the five-time League champions in the 23rd minute. India International Clifford Miranda's dead-ball floater from the right was cleared by United Sikkim defenders but only as far as Alwyn George who picked out Beto inside the area.
The former Churchill Brothers man from Brazil made no mistake and fired home from close.
Just at the stroke of halftime, Dempo doubled their lead when Ozbey slotted home left-back Narayan Das's cross.
Post the breather, it was all one way traffic as Arthur Papas's boys made constant forays into rival territory.
Of one such raid, Ozbey found the back of the net again. Collecting possession on the edge of the area, the former Mohammedan Sporting, East Bengal and Mohun Bagan forward turned his marker both ways before stabbing home in the 63rd minute.
United Sikkim tried to reduce the margin in the dying minutes of the match but in vain.
