CALCUTTA, MARCH 16: Salgaocar moved ahead in their quest for the National Football League title by beating Churchill Brothers 2-0 at the Rabindra Sarobar Stadium today. Jules Alberto and Domingo Vaz scored the goals in the second half.East Bengal, however, suffered a setback. They were held to a 1-1 draw by bottom-placed FC Kochin at the Salt Lake Stadium. East Bengal's star striker Bhaichung Bhutia was back with the side, but he appeared out of form and squandered a couple of easy chances. Raman Vijayan scored for East Bengal in the 85th minute, but found the advantage nullified by Rozario just a minute before the long whistle.East Bengal thus have 13 points while Salgaocar opened the gap again with 17 points. Churchill are placed third with 12 points and still have an outside chance. However, with just two games remaining for each side, Salgaocar are best placed to take the title.Rabindra Sarobar does not produce too many fast matches. Today was no different, with both teams playing the waitinggame. Churchill, as well as Salgaocar, were out of their depths. The Goan outfits, familiar for weaving passes, preferred using the width of the field. The first half in particular, failed to produce any spectacular moments.The first good moment came with the first goal in the 57th minute. More than the goal, it was the Bruno Coutinho's accurate free-kick that will stay in memory. The kick, taken from the right flank, swerved away from Churchill goalkeeper Edward Ansah's extended arms and Alberto timed his header to perfection.The second goal came in the 80th minute, after the Churchill defence had advanced almost to the half-line. Vaz received a pass from Francis Coelho close to the centre. He was behind the defence in a flash as the Churchill players waited for an off-side call. The signal never came, but the Churchill players refused to budge. Ansah was all alone and could not prevent Vaz from scoring. Ironically, while Vaz was scoring the goal, Augustine Rodrigues was waiting to replace him at theside-line.
