10-man Sporting shock Churchill

10-man Sporting shock Churchill
Sporting…2   Churchill…1
HERALD CORRESPONDENT
MARGAO, APRIL 17
Sporting Clube de Goa pulled off a memorable 2-1 win over defending champions Musli Power Churchill Brothers in ONGC 3rd I-League at Nehru stadium, Fatorda, on Saturday. Sporting led 1-0 at the breather.
It was the fourth victory for the Flaming Orange team in the return-leg as they now have 20 points from 21 matches and are still placed at bottom of the table.
Both teams were missing one foreign striker each, as Sporting started without Nathaniel Amos, while Churchill were without skipper Odafa Okolie. Agnelo D’Souza started up front alongside Junior for Sporting, while young Durga Boro partnered Felix Chimaokwu.
Sporting in fact put up a doughty display to take the fight to the rival camp. Midfielders Joseph Pereira, Adil Khan, Bibiano Fernandes worked in tandem to feed both forwards – Junior and Agnelo, who kept the rival defence on the run.
Churchill’s first opportunity came in the 15th minute but Durgo who came in place of suspended Odafe shot wide.
Sporting forged ahead in the 21st minute when diminutive striker Agnelo worked  his  way  inside the rival box but was tripped by Robert  Lathlamuana prompting  referee  P Bhasker to point to the dreaded spot. Man-of-the match Junior made no mistake in slotting the ball to the left of goalkeeper Arindam Bhattacharya.
Stung by the setback, Churchill came close in neutralizing the lead but Sporting goalkeeper Felix D’Souza rose to the occasion and twice denied Lalrindika with superlative saves.
After the wake up call, Sporting reacted quickly but striker Agnelo was the culprit as he bungled after receiving a well measured pass from Junior.
After the lemon break, Churchill created a couple of chances but without much luck. Midfielder Ogba Kalu could have almost neutralized the lead but his try bounced off the horizontal. Later Reisangmi Vashum’s feeble shot went straight into the safe hands of Sporting goalkeeper Felix.
A couple of minutes later, striker Durga blew away an easy chance, shooting straight into the hands of the rival goalkeeper.
Churchill’s goalkeeper Arindam fell unconscious after receiving a blow on his head while attempting to collect an aerial ball. An ambulance was rushed to the ground and play was stalled for a couple minutes. Arindam, fortunately gained consciousness but was unable to retake on the field.
In the 85th minute, there was a controversial penalty following a cross from Jaison Valles, which saw Sporting defender Samananda Singh heading the ball which accidentally fell on Ogba inside the box.  Samananda was ejected for picking up a second yellow while the referee awarded a spot kick for Churchill. Felix made no mistake to send the goalkeeper the wrong way.
Sporting striker Junior stamped his class with a clinical finish after picking up a pass from Michael Tayo. He unleashed a right footer which beat substitute Churchill goalkeeper Lalit Thapa.
With this win, Sporting collected 20 points from 21 matches while Churchill remained in third spot with 32 points from 20 matches.
Sporting coach Vishwas Gaunkar was disappointed with the referring of P Bhasker and questioned the wisdom of the penalty. Vishwas said: “I do not see on what account the referee gave this penalty. I am sorry to say, this is how the referee functioned.  I am totally satisfied with the performance of my boys, it was indeed a tough encounter for us.”
Meanwhile, Victor Fernandes, Sporting’s vice-president said that his team will appeal against the yellow card given to Samandanda and Junior for wasting time. He said he will ask the video footage be viewed to prove the point that the players never wasted time intentionally.
Meanwhile, SAG felicitated former Olympian Fortunato Franco and the victorious Goa U-21 football team at the hands of Sports Minister Babu Azgaonkar in the presence of PWD Minister Churchill Alemao and Urban Development Minister Joaquim Alemao. Franco was presented a cash purse of Rs 5 lakh while U-21 players received Rs 15,000 each.  The Goa team also received Rs 5000 each given by Peter Vaz, president Sporting Clube de Goa for their outstanding victory in the Junior National Football Championship.