I-League: Churchill hit top form, score five past Rajasthan United

Panaji: Churchill Brothers FC finally found their rhythm as they demolished Rajasthan United FC 5-0 at the Ambedkar Stadium, Delhi, on Tuesday.
Emmanuel Yaghr gave Churchill a perfect start by opening the floodgates in the second minute itself. His strike partner Abdoulaye Sane then doubled the advantage before Yahr secured his brace in the second half.
Anil Goankar inflated the tally with a fine finish just after the hour mark while Sane got his second in the final minute of play.
The win came at an important time for Churchill, having started the year with a solitary goal defeat against defending champions Gokulam Kerala FC and then being held to a frustrating 2-2 draw at home by Neroca FC.
The two-time champions remained in the eighth place with 16 points from 12 matches. They are a point behind seventh place Aizawl FC. Only three points separate Churchill to third placed TRAU.
Rajasthan are sixth with 18 points from 12 games. Kerala and Real Kashmir are above them with 18 points each.
Churchill looked rejuvenated and played to a plan against Rajasthan, who had stunned them 1-2 in the opening match of the season at Bambolim.
Churchill then went through turbulent times as they managed only two points in their first five games.
On Tuesday, everything went wrong for Pushpender Kundu’s men right from the start as his defence lost the plot. Aidar Mambetaliev, otherwise the leader of Rajasthan’s defence, committed an error and Yaghr pounced on the opportunity as he went past hapless goalkeeper Rafique Ali Sardar and scored.
Rajasthan’s midfield lacked creativity and it was made worse to see Uruguayan playmaker Martin Chaves on the Churchill bench after signing a two-year deal. Rajasthan captain Joseba Beitia had an off day too while Leonce Dodoz struggled in his second match.
Rajasthan did have superior ball possession, but it were their opponents who were much sharper.
Ghanaian Yaghr, making his first start, set up Sane for the second after a defensive lapse.
Yaghr looked set to score his second nine minutes later as playing the high line once again proved disastrous for Rajasthan. He broke the offside trap, ran for the ball from a nice through ball but Rafique came way out of the box to clear the danger.
In the second half, Churchill carried on with the momentum.
Anil took time on the left flank to deceive his marker in shifting the ball to the right foot and sent in a perfect cross to Yaghr, who headed home his second.
Seven minutes later, it was Anil’s turn to go for glory with a fine finish.
Churchill scored their fifth in the 90th minute. It was Sane’s second goal in the match and sixth this season. The Senegalese got the ball on the edge of the box and for one last time, Aidar and Amritpal made an error of judgement in not going for the final tackle, allowing Sane to comfortably curl the ball into the top-left corner.
Churchill will host Real Kashmir FC on Tuesday.