AGENCIES, VASCO: Churchill Brothers routed Tiddim Road Athletic Union (TRAU) FC 6-1 in an I-League match at Tilak Maidan on Tuesday.
Abdoulaye Sane scored a brace with the other goals coming through Tana, Anil Rama Gaonkar, Kamo Stephane Bayi and an own goal by Yemdremban Naresh Singh.
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Bikash Singh Sagolsen scored for TRAU. Churchill led 4-1 at half-time.
The result took the Goan outfit to sixth on the table, one rung below their vanquished opponents from Imphal, Manipur.
Churchill have 12 points, TRAU are on 13, both having played nine matches each.
Sane, the Frenchman, shot Churchill ahead in the fourth minute but TRAU were on level terms in the 20th minute when Bikash Singh struck.
Sane, however, regained the lead for his side with a touch of brilliance in the 34th minute. Spanish striker Tana doubled the lead two minutes later to make it 3-1.
Player of the match Gaonkar ended it as a contest when he struck in added time before the interval to give the hosts a commanding 4-1 lead.
Churchill Brothers’ coach Mateus Costa made two changes to his side which played out a goalless draw with RoundGlass Punjab in the last match as Kapil Hoble and Gaonkar started for the Red Machines. TRAU coach Nandkumar Singh, on the other hand, chose to go with the same XI which earned his side full points against Rajasthan United FC in their last match.
The Red Machine got off to a great start as they surged in the early minutes, thanks to Abdoulaye Sane. Spanish forward Tana made a through pass to Kapil in the box who set up Sane. The French forward quickly tapped the ball home from close to draw first blood.
The hosts could have gone further ahead two minutes later but Kapil’s cut-back after some fine individual work found Sane shooting over from point-blank range.
Another chance fell to Churchill but Gaonkar shot straight into goalkeeper Bishorjit Singh after Tana’s lead up work.
TRAU had their first look at the Churchill goal after 16 minutes when Brazilian defensive midfielder Gerson Vieira with a long-range shot from distance that had Albino Gomes fumbling before collecting on the second attempt.
Midfielder Kingslee Fernandes then struck the crossbar after the ball went off Bishorjit’s gloves as Churchill kept knocking on the door.
TRAU punished Churchill Brothers for prodigality when Salam Singh found the unmarked Bikash Singh ideally placed to drive past Albino and make it 1-1.
But Churchill regained the ascendancy and threatened through Tana who accepted Gaonkar’s through pass but failed to beat Bishorjit in a one-on-one situation.
Sane, however, struck from Kapil’s low cross to put Churchill 2-1 ahead in the 34th minute, doing so with a left-footer after teammate Goanker failed to trap.
It appeared to open the floodgates and the hosts were 3-1 up when Tana joined the party in the 35th minute. The Spanish forward collected a long clearance from captain Momo Cisse, covered ground and passed to Sane who jinked past the defence and unselfishly set up Tana who tapped home.
It was 4-1 in time added on when Gaonkar made amends for prodigality by doing justice to a precise pass from Tana beating Bishorjit with his first touch and then slotting into an open goal.
TRAU coach Nandkumar Singh made four changes at halftime as defender Manash Protim Gogoi, midfielders Nongthongbam Japes and Rodger Khuman along with Ghanaian forward Nana Poku were brought-in to sharpen in the attack.
Churchill didn’t take their foot off the pedal in the second half and continued to create chances. Tana was denied by Bishorjit who blocked a powerful volley from inside the area.
Costa also rang changes, bringing in Wendell Coelho, Mamit Vanlalduatsanga, Quan Gomes and Ivorian forward Kamo Bayi.
The changes induced pace in the last few minutes and the Goans swelled their tally. It came in the form of an own goal by Naresh Singh with a minute left on the clock.
Substitute Kamo then entered the scoresheet from Wendell’s cross, the Ivorian forward heading in to complete a tennis score.
Result: Churchill Brother FC 6 (Abdoulaye Sane 4’, 34’, Tana 35’, Anil Rama Gaonkar 45+3’, Naresh Singh (OG) 89′, Kamo Stephane Bayi 90+4’) beat Tiddim Road Athletic Union FC 1 (Bikash Singh 20’)
