I-league: Churchill Brothers Beat 10-man Aizawl FC 1-0

Vasco: Churchill Brothers continued their winning streak as they scored a solitary goal win over 10-man Aizawl FC in their I-League match here on Tuesday. Churchill Brothers, who dominated the match scored the all important goal through Mechac Koffi in the 22nd minute.

Aizawl FC came back strongly in the last quarter of the match but their search for the equaliser ended when they were reduced to ten men in the last ten minutes when C Lalrosanga was given marching orders for a deliberate foul on Dawada Ceesay who was about to score.

Churchill started on a positive note as they had better ball possession and had the first chance to surge ahead but Nicholas Fernandes headed out from close off a cross from Harshad Naik in the second minute. The visitors retaliated and Masih Saighani found the net from a corner kick taken by Andrei Jonescu but the referee disallowed the goal as the ball had crossed the line.

Ceesay and Koffi combined well upfront and posed a constant threat to the Aizawl defence with good support from the flanks by Nicholas Ferandes and Wayne Vaz. Churchill were rewarded with a goal in the 22nd minute. Nicholas Fernandes received a long ball, hoodwinked rival defender R Laldinliana and crossed the ball inside the box for an unmarked Koffi to sent it into the net with a deft placement.

Koffi had a chance to double the lead few minutes latter but he shot the ball straight into the hands of rival keeper Avilash Paul off a pass from Ceesay. Defending champions Aizawl, who had beaten Churchill in the first leg showed a lot of urgency after conceding the goal and they pressed hard to find the equaliser. But somehow, their final passes inside the box went astray which helped Churchill brothers to thwart their moves.

With this win, their fifth of the season, Churchill took their tally to 16 points from 12 matches, the same as Aizawl.