The 2016 Hero I-League drew to a close this past weekend with Bengaluru FC ending the campaign as league winners for the second time in their three-year history and new comers Aizawl FC being relegated. The newly crowned champions faced runners-up Mohun Bagan in their final game of the season at the Kanchenjunga Stadium in Siliguri on Saturday. Coach Ashley Westwood chose to field a much-tweaked Blues starting eleven and was made to pay for it by a rampant Mariners outfit that beat them 5-0 after first half strikes from Lenny Rodrigues (FC Pune City) and Luciano Sobrosa (FC Goa) had set the hosts on their way.The weekend’s action also featured two local derbies with first division status at stake. Sporting Clube de Goa beat Salgaocar FC 3-0 courtesy of Pratesh Shirodkar (Mumbai City FC) and Victorino Fernandes (FC Goa) strikes that sandwiched Sumit Passi’s goal.Mumbai FC faced DSK Shivajians in the second derby of the weekend and put the visitors to the sword with a 4-0 victory at the Cooperage Ground. An Eric Brown brace and goals from Jayesh Rane (Chennaiyin FC) and Sushil Kumar Singh (Atlético de Kolkata) were enough to help the hosts avoid the drop. Shillong Lajong FC also guaranteed safety with a 1-0 win over Kolkata heavyweights East Bengal.Bengaluru FC finish the season with 32 points followed by Kolkata clubs Mohun Bagan and East Bengal, who ended their campaign with 30 and 25 points respectively. Sporting Clube de Goa ended their season in fourth position with 22 points and Mumbai FC beat the drop by finishing fifth and accumulating 19 points over the course of the season, one point ahead of sixth-placed Shillong Lajong FC. Salgaocar FC and Aizawl FC finished in seventh and eighth place with 16 points each, while DSK Shivajians propped up the table with 15 points after 16 matches. However, Aizawl FC took the dreaded drop into the second division of the Hero I-League since debutants DSK Shivajians have a three-year exemption from relegation for being a corporate team, as decided by the All India Football Federation (AIFF).
