Kolkata: Nigerian duo of Ranty Martins and Ogba Kalu Nnanna fell unconscious briefly while attempting a header even as Dempo blanked Churchill Brothers 2-0 to reach the final of the 30th Federation Cup at Yuba Bharati Krirangan (YBK) in Kolkata on Thursday.
In an incident that brought back the unfortunate memory of Cristiano Junior collapsing to death during Dempo's 2004 Federation Cup final against Mohun Bagan, Ranty and Churchill defender Kalu rose for a header on a corner kick from Robert Lalthalma in the 73rd minute.
The duo collided their heads while airborne and fell on the ground unconscious.
An ambulance was called in immediately and they were rushed to the nearby Apollo Hospital and play was halted for about eight minutes.
After CT scan, both the players were declared out of danger, said Dempo coach Armando Colaco who burst into tears as his Churchill counterpart Zoran Djordjevic hugged and consoled him.
Dempo drew first blood through a penalty conversion in 13th minute. In a tussle inside the box, Ogba was penalised for a hand-ball and Ranty duly converted the spot kick.
Dempo settled the issue in the 57th minute and this time it was Clifford Miranda who did the magic with a flying header. Making amends of his 44th minute miss, Clifford connected oss and sent his header home.
Churchill coach Djordjevic contested the penalty decision by referee Shaji Kurian, which however appeared to be clean from TV replay.
"For me, it was not a penalty. The referee did a bad job. He was not referee but a Dempo player. Dempo deserved to win. But today they played with one player more. The eleven and the referee. Referee was big help for them," said the Serbian.
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