Churchill wins a thrilling encounter

By Our Special Correspondent

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM, MARCH 22. Churchill Brothers, Goa employed a pressing game to strike down a fighting State Bank of Travancore 3-2 in the V National Football League (NFL) at the Chandrasekharan Nair stadium here on Thursday. Both the teams were locked 1-1 at the half-time before Churchill Brothers with its restructured game- plan in the final session left the host behind.

Yet, it was no cake-walk for the day's winner which found itself under pressure through the last ten minutes of play as the home team came up with a last-ditch effort to negate the lead enjoyed by Churchill Brothers, whose successful conquest of the day was dotted by the goals from Roque Barreto, Igor Shivkrin and Francis Silveira. C.V. Sunny and Asif Saheer were the scorers for the home team, which was almost down when Churchill ran up a 3-1 lead found its hopes being raised by the 80th minute goal from Asif.

It was an eminently forgettable last ten minutes for the Goans as SBT launched itself to gain at least a draw. But, the Goans displayed equal determination as it withstood the late rally by SBT and emerged out a deserving winner. That the match would be an enterprising affair was evident, perhaps, from the start itself.

The two teams seemed to be equally poised in the first session wherein both SBT and Churchill came up with an absorbing display and did share the honours with a goal each to their credit. SBT, of course, was considerably weakened by the absence of Abdul Hakkim and Sylvester Ignatius, the duo serving a one- match suspension after having collected two yellow cards each but still matched its opponent with a gritty display.

In fact, it had taken only two minutes for SBT to neutralise Churchill's early lead and thereafter it was a close tussle all the way before Churchill found itself on the path to victory through Shivkrin and Silveira. The Goans, following today's win, have 22 points from 15 matches, while SBT stands rooted at the eleventh spot with 12 points.

Churchill Brothers' defender Usman Hussain (left) gets past SBT's Asif Saheer in the National Football League match at Thiruvananthapuram on Thursday.

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Section  : Sport
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