Churchill Bros …. 0
United SC …………. 2
TEAM HERALD
Margao: The outpouring of emotions, both of despair and joy was overwhelming after United Sports Club, Kolkata tamed 10 man Churchill Brothers 2-0 in the penultimate round of the Airtel I-League at Nehru Stadium, Fatorda on Saturday.
In a virtual relegation saver, United came on top, thanks to a brace of goals from Eric Brown (49th and 70th minute) after a barren first session to ensure that United SC will continue in top-flight football for at least another year.
The win helped United accumulate 26 points and is now safe from the danger of relegation. Instead, it will be Churchill Brothers who now face relegation. They are just a point ahead of bottom-placed Mohammedan Sporting, and Churchill will need a win in their final league clash against Salgaocar Football Club on April 28.
Churchill, boosted by their previous league clash against East Bengal, made all the right moves at the start of the match but lacked firepower upfront. Both strikers, Balwant Singh and Anthony Wolfe, were mediocre and could not trouble United’s goalkeeper Abhijit Das.
Wolfe’s shot, Balwant’s attempt were all off the mark and then Abdel Hamid Shabana wasted a good opportunity from just outside the box. But Shabana in the 37th minute picked up his second bookable offence for fouling Eric Brown and consequently was sent off.
United sensed an opportunity and cashed in on the chance in the second session.
The opening goal came about in the 49th minute when a quick counter attack saw Sukhen Dey flash the ball across the goal where Brown came up with a low header.
Churchill pressed more men forward in an attempt to secure the equalizer but instead ended up conceding another goal. Brown was the goalscorer again, this time after being beautifully picked up by Owolabi Waheed Adekunle. The midfielder grabbed a loose ball from Churchill defender Raju Yumnam and passed it for Brown who finished with a good angular effort.
Churchill never really had a chance to come back into the game after the second blow and will have to pull in all their resources for the concluding league clash on April 28.
United SC Ananta Kumar Ghosh was elated with the three points and margin of victory. “The boys played well today and though there were moments of uncertainly, they quickly regrouped and settled well,” said Ghosh.
Not so was the case with Churchill Brothers’ coach Mariano Dias as his wards failed to convert the chances and could not comprehend what went wrong with his team. “We played well against East Bengal but somehow the players did not click and the expulsion of Egyptian midfielder Abdel Hamid Shabana was the down fall out our team. We will forget this loss in hurry as we have a bigger challenge ahead against Salgaocar Football Club in the last match,” said Mariano Dias.
