Leading from the front, captain Okolie Odafe struck twice and his African-mate Mboyo Iyomi scored once to give Churchill Brothers, Goa a comfortable 3-1 win against Viva Kerala in the 15th round tie of the ONGC I-League at the Corporation Stadium in Kozhikode on Monday.
For the hosts, Saleel found the net in the 21st minute. Man-of-the-match Odafe made his intentions clear producing a powerful hit 10 minutes into the play, which was just saved in front of the goalmouth by Viva custodian Ebin Rose.
A minute later, Odafe, who looked to be in peak form, seized the initiative for the Goan team, collecting a neat pass from Khang Thang Paite, who was fed by Rober Lalthalma.
However, the home team soon scored the equaliser when Saleel neatly connected a James Singh's cross.
Odafe scored again in the 39th minute off a Reisangmi pass to enable his team lead 2-1 at half-time. With an individual tally of 19 goals, Odafe is the leading scorer in the League.
Even as Viva worked hard to level the score, Iyomi turned a perfect close range header (8th minute) off a timely pass from Naoba Singh to take the match away from the hosts.
Churchill Brothers are in second spot with 29 points behind Dempo (30), while Viva Kerala (12) continue to trail in ninth place, facing the threat of relegation along with Salgaocar SC, Goa (7) in the 10-team League.
