Man of the match Odafe Onyeka Okolie capitalised on the sloppy Salgaocar defence to slam in four goals as Churchill Brothers came from behind to register a resounding 5-1 win in the eighth round of the ONGC I-League at Nehru stadium in Margao on Monday.
Okolie struck in the 42nd, 80th, 85th and 86th minutes while Rowilson Rodrigues found the net in the 79th. Salgaocar had earlier taken the lead through Felix Chimaokwu (40th).
The win took Churchill to 16 points from eight matches, two behind table-toppers JCT and Dempo Sports Club. Salgaocar remained on three points.
Salgaocar's poor form in the league forced the management to recall Brazilian medio Fabio Dos Passos, who gave a good account of himself and controlled the midfield.
They could have taken an early lead but Shylo Malswamtlunga and Boniface Ambani wasted clear chances from inside the box.
The Churchill midfield also failed to function in the beginning and commited several mispasses as Salgaocar took the lead.
Passo floated a free-kick from the right into the box and Biju Kumar flicked it for Felix to head home. Okolie equalised two minutes later.
Iyomi Mboyo sent a forward pass to Okolie, who raced into the box and placed the ball to the left of Salgaocar keeper Milagrio Medeira to see both teams level at half-time.
However, Salgaocar were unlucky towards the end of the half as Felix's shot hit the crossbar.
After change of ends, Salgaocar's Boniface Ambani forced Churchill keeper Vinay Singh to make a diving save.
Churchill slowly took control over proceedings, making deep forays into the rival half in the last 20 minutes of the match to score four goals.
They took the lead in the 79th minute when Rowilson Rodrigues headed in off a flag kick taken by Khan Thank Paite.
The goal opened the floodgates as Salgaocar's defence crumbled again and Man of the Match Okolie scored three more goals.
He ran through the rival defence and shot into the net in the 80th minute. Five minutes later, he stunned keeper Milagrio Medeira with a stunning 25-yards right footer.
A minute later, he ended Salgaocar misery when he shot home off a pass from Iyomi.
Referee S Suresh showed yellow cards to Salgaocar's Agnelo Colaco and Malswamtlunga and Churchill's Okolie and Zenith Genius Mashangva.
© 2024 Rediff.com -