The 2015 Indian Federation Cup Final was a football match between Dempo and Bengaluru FC played on 11 January 2015 at Fatorda Stadium in Margao, Goa. The match was the culmination of the 2014–15 Indian Federation Cup. This was the 36th edition of the Federation Cup, the national cup tournament of football in India which is administered by the All India Football Federation (AIFF). Bengaluru FC won the final by defeating Dempo 2–1 with goals scored by Sunil Chhetri and Robin Singh while the Dempo goal came from a spot kick by Tolgay Ozbey. This was the first time Bengaluru FC had won the tournament.
Dempo qualified for the final by defeating Salgaocar in the semi-final 2–0 while Bengaluru FC qualified by defeating Sporting Goa in the semi-finals 3–0.
The final was televised live on TEN Action.
Road to the final
The Federation Cup is an annual Indian football competition open to all I-League teams. Ten of the eleven I-League clubs participated in the tournament the season with Bharat FC being the excluded club. The 2014–15 edition was the 36th of the competition.
Dempo
Prior to reaching the 2014 final, Dempo had reached the final of the Federation Cup five times. They began their 2014–15 Federation Cup campaign on 29 December 2014 in the first match of the group stages against fellow I-League side East Bengal. The match took place at the Fatorda Stadium in Margao, Goa . The venue would turn out to be the only stadium Dempo play in throughout the entire tournament. A Romeo Fernandes first-half header helped local giants Dempo SC down East Bengal by a solitary goal in the Group A tie. Dempo went on to win 1–0 to open their season on a winning note.
Dempo then played their second match of the group on New Year's Eve against fellow I-League Goan side Sporting Goa. Tolgay Ozbey scored two from the spot in a well deserved hattrick to set up a convincing 4-1 Dempo win. Ozbey scored two penalties either side of halftime after opening the floodgates in the 11th minute to script a comprehensive win for the Goan heavyweights thus sailing smoothly towards a last-four berth. Beevan D’Mello pulled one back when the score read 3-1 but Romeo Fernandes added gloss to the score with a late strike. Joyner Laourenco was at fault this time felling the 28-year-old inside the area to give away the second penalty of the match. Tolgay converted with aplomb to bring up his hattrick – the first of the tournament so far – sending Nandy the wrong way to tuck home low into the bottom left corner. Romeo put the icing on the cake at the end of the match latching onto substitute Alwyn George's pass to go solo and power home low into the back of the net.
Dempo then played their third match of the group on 5 January 2014 against Mumbai. First-half strikes from India International Clifford Miranda and the impressive Romeo Fernandes made sure the Dempo juggernaut kept rolling as Arthur Papas's wards made short work of Mumbai FC who needed to win this match to stay in the hunt, without the services of talisman Tolgay Ozbey who was not even named on the bench. Coming to the match, it took the team to beat of the tourney 13 minutes to surge ahead. Romeo's corner was aimed Holicharan – seamlessly slipping into Tolgay's shoes – who mistimed his shot with the ball falling to an unmarked Clifford who had the easiest of tasks of nodding the ball into the back of the net. It was one way traffic all the way and Dempo soon after doubled their tally.
In the final match of the group stage, Dempo faced off against new I-League entrants Royal Wahingdoh. Romeo Fernandes scored the winning goal to confirm the semi-final berth for Dempo. He latched on to a loose ball on the edge of the area to sidestep Loveday Okechukwu delicately and make space for himself before firing the ball into the far post with aplomb. The goal made him part of the triumvirate of top-scorers along with Salgaocar's Douhou Pierre and India and Bengaluru FC Captain Sunil Chhetri. Romeo also holds the record of scoring in all of Dempo's four matches, the only player in the tournament to do so. Earlier, Bekay Bawar gave the Shilong outfit the lead in the 36th minute.