Mahindra United players with the IFA Shield on Friday. A Telegraph picture

Calcutta: Mahindra United outthought, outpaced and outclassed Santos FC, beating the South African visitors 3-1 in the 113th IFA Shield final in Barasat on Friday.

Yusif Yakubu started the Mumbai outfit’s defence of the title with a brace in the first half and substitute Sushil Kumar Singh completed the journey with his first goal of the tournament three minutes from the final whistle.

Santos put up a spirited fightback in the second half, reducing the margin through Gregory Roelf, but Mahindra United managed to protect their lead, having survived some anxious moments.

In the end, the big smile on Mahindra United coach Derick Pereira’s face said it all. Not only did his boys defend the title in style and keep the trophy in the country, they also exacted revenge on the South African side, who beat them 2-0 in the tournament opener.

The final bore testimony to Pereira’s technical and tactical nous and in Man of the Match Doughou Pierre, the coach found a perfect tool to execute his plans.

On Pereira’s notebook before the final was a detailed study of Santos’ backline, especially how it was exposed to counter-attacks by Bhaichung Bhutia and Jose Ramirez Barreto during Mohun Bagan’s fighting 2-4 loss to the South Africans in Wednesday’s semi-final.

Pereira started the final according to that script, setting his wingers on the loose and Pierre adding spark to the attack by operating from behind Yakubu. It was the combination of Pierre and Yakubu which saw Mahindra United get off to a dream start.

The match was just eight-minute-old when Yakubu, having received the ball near the opponents’ half-line, delivered a neat through for his teammate from Ivory Coast. When Pierre got to the ball, which pierced the defence of Kristopher Bergman and Leon Godloza, Yakubu was already at the other end, unmarked and waiting for his teammate to just square the ball across the face of goal. The Ivorian did exactly that and Yakubu had no difficulty in beating goalkeeper Eduan Naude.

Five minutes later, the duo came calling again. A Sushanth Matthew through found Yakubu on the edge of the box. The Ghanaian quickly exchanged the ball with Pierre before rounding off the goalkeeper — who came out of his line to challenge him — with a deft chip and nodding home into the unprotected goal.

Those double blows inside the first quarter of the half had a telling effect on Santos. They tried hard to stay afloat, bringing the wings to a more meaningful expression in their game plans in the second half. Roelf’s goal two minutes after the break signalled their reinvigorated approach to the game. But Pereira quickly reshuffled his defence to counter it. As a result, when Tasleem Paulse attempted to break free or Roelf spelt danger with quick moves, N.P. Pradeep — brought back as a shield behind the back four — scuppered those chances with his fine sense of alacrity and alertness.

“We wanted to catch them napping in the beginning and our plans clicked,” Pereira said after the match. No doubt about this.

Teams

Mahindra United: Subhasish Roy Chowdhury; Harpreet Singh, Sushanth Mathew, N.P. Pradeep, Bello Rassaq; Steven Dias (Thoi Singh 90+2), Doughou Pierre, Sukhwinder Singh, Mohammad Rafi, Yusif Yakubu, Manjit Singh (Sushil Kumar Singh 85).

Santos FC: Eduan Naude; Leon Godloza, Jean Farrugia, Kristopher Bergman, Elton Swartz; Danny Bowers (Ruzaigh Gamildien 53), Ayanda Maqasha (Jarren Moultrie 76), Joswin Hendricks, Gregory Roelf (Zuroog Daniels 81); Tasleem Paulse, Clifton Davids.

Referee: A. Arjunan (Services).

Man of the Match: Doughou Pierre.