Europa League final - Porto 1 Braga 0:Porto deservedly beat Braga 1-0 in the Europa League final as a superb header by Colombian striker Falcao settled the all-Portuguese clash at the Aviva Stadium in Dublin tonight.

Falcao swooped for his 17th goal of the competition just before halftime, timing his run to perfection to meet compatriot Fredy Guarin's precise cross and brilliantly direct a header past Braga keeper Artur.

Braga, the competition's surprise packages who knocked out former European champions Liverpool and Benfica, should have equalised when Mossoro went clean through seconds after halftime, only to shoot straight at the goalkeeper.

However, they did not have enough attacking guile to stop Porto boss Andre Villas Boas emulating the club's greatest coach Jose Mourinho by winning this competition and the domestic league in his first season in charge. He also became the youngest coach to win a European trophy.

Porto, who cruised to the Portuguese title undefeated and reached the final by knocking out the likes of Spain's Sevilla and Villarreal, started the more dangerous but were kept at bay for much of a mostly tedious first half.

Their opponents, playing in their first European final, created the first chance when midfielder Custodio fired a half volley wide of Porto captain Helton's goal on four minutes.

The Portuguese champions went close minutes later when burly Brazilian forward Hulk cut in from the wing and zig-zagged past two defenders before flashing what would become the last clear cut chance for over half an hour across the Braga goal.

Hulk continued to prove a menace and was forcibly stopped in his tracks twice at the cost of two yellow cards in quick succession, first by Braga midfielder Hugo Viana and then more cynically by Portugal teammate Silvio.

However, it was his strike partner Falcao who broke the deadlock a minute before the break, handing the game the jolt it needed with his 38th goal of the season and his team's 137th.

The goal meant the prolific striker, who scored five goals in the semi-final against Villarreal, took his record-breaking tally for a single European competition further past the previous mark held by Juergen Klinsmann.

It also succeeded in shaking the game briefly into life and Braga would have been level had substitute Mossoro, who seized on some lax Porto defending with virtually his first touch, fired either side of Helton when put clear on goal.

As the pace of the game picked up, so did the frequency of yellow cards with three more brandished, underlying the rivalry between two teams based a mere 50 kilometres apart.

Braga kept searching for an equaliser but lacked any cutting edge in front of goal, a criticism throughout a gritty campaign in which they scored just three goals in four quarter-final and semi-final matches compared to Porto's 18.

That was as close as Domingos Paciencia's stubborn side came, allowing their more illustrious opponents to add a second Europa title to a trophy room that also includes two European Cups, a European Supercup and two world club titles.

Porto, who lifted the same trophy when the competition was known as the Uefa Cup in 2003, also remain on course for a quadruple haul of trophies this season.