Churchill get first points

Odafe Okolie struck twice against Mohun Bagan to guide Churchill Brothers to their first win in this seasons I-league at the Nehru Stadium here on Sunday.

Churchill Brothers plan to attack from the word go worked as they scored as early as in the 3rd minute. Zakeer Mundampara,who gave a good account in the midfield,sent a cross to Odafe who got the better of two rival defenders before essaying a firm right-footer that beat goalkeeper Paul all ends up.

The early goal was the impetus Churchill needed as they put pressure on the rival defence and found the net again through Odafe,but the Nigerian was called offside by referee S Suresh. Churchills midfield combined well and,along with their strikers,troubled the Bagan defence. Charan Rai sent in a long ball to Odafe,who found space inside the box,unleashed a shot which went in after a deflection by defender Harpreet Singh.

Bagan,meanwhile,had three chances to score but Jose Baretto and Edeh Chidi failed. In the second half,Baretto,playing as withdrawn striker, kept Bagans attack moving as they put relentless pressure on Churchill in search of a goal,but the rival defence was up to the task.

On the other hand,whenever Churchill made a counter move,the Bagan defence look jittery and expectedly succumbed in 67th minute when defender Harpreet Singh brought down Odafe from behind. The referee awarded a penalty,which the Nigerian converted with ease. Bagan coach Stanley Rosario made three changes as they attacked the rival goal,but luck too was not on their side as Chidi shots hit the post and went out.

With time running out,Bagan made a desperate attempt to find the net,with their defense also moving up to support their strikers. Churchill have points from from three matches. While Bagan,who lost their second successive match,remained on one point from three matches.

Pune FC hold Viva Kerala

Kannur: Striker Sunil Kumars header one minute from time saved the day for Pune FC,who managed to hold hosts Viva Kerala 1-1. Viva Kerala scored in the 73rd minute through Jimshads header. With this match,both Viva and Pune FC have two points apiece from three encounters.

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Viva went all out for the goal and gave some anxious moment to Pune goalkeeper Balaji Narasimhan. Dominating the proceedings,Viva could have won the match but have to blame hemselves for the draw as their strikers fumbled with the opportunities,specially in the second half. With the match looking to end in a draw,Viva scored through Jimshad after a long throw-in by Sherin Same from the left.

Pune too had earned some chances to reduce the margin,but they fumbled at the nick of the time either striking straight to the Viva goalkeeper or over the cross-piece.

East Bengal rout AIFF XI

Kolkata: East Bengal registered their third consecutive victory,thrashing AIFF XI 4-0 at the Yuba Bharati Krirangan. After being held goalless in the first half by a spirited AIFF XI,East Bengal scored through Robin Singh 51st and 75th,Penn Orji 69th and Tolgay Ozebe 80th. East Bengal now have six points and climbed to the top of the table while AIFF remained on one point.

The young AIFF outfit showed promise in the first half and matched in pace despite the red-and-gold brigade attacking from all sides. But their resistance ran out in the second half ,conceding goals in a flurry.