14 years have gone by, but Derrick Pereira remembers the moment as if it happened yesterday. It remains his fondest memory from the season ...
14 years have gone by, but Derrick Pereira remembers the moment as if it happened yesterday. It remains his fondest memory from the season where he coached Mahindra United to their first National Football League title during the 2005-’06 season.
A scintillating start to the season propelled Mahindra to the top of the table – they went unbeaten for six matches that included away wins against title contenders Dempo, East Bengal and Salgaocar but the challenge of competing in the 2006 AFC Cup began to affect their domestic results.
Before they travelled to Bahrain to face Al Muharraq for their third AFC Cup game, Mahindra United went on a winless streak, drawing three NFL matches.
Muharraq had won their first two AFC Cup matches and going to face the group A toppers wasn’t going to be an easy task for Mahindra, especially considering that they had only a day’s rest before they could face the hosts.
Expectedly, it was the team in form, Muharraq that scored first. They did after the hour mark but Mahindra soon responded with an equaliser three minutes through Mathew Sushant. But even as the their opponents threatened on quite a few occasions after the break, Mahindra rallied back to leave Bahrain with a...
