Churchill Brothers FC edge past Calangute Association

Players of Sesa FA and Sporting Clube de Goa vie for the ball, at Tilak Maidan, Vasco.

MARGAO

A second-half strike by midfielder Alent Colaco helped Churchill Brothers FC edge past Calangute Association 2-1 in the GFA's Goa Professional League, at SAG Trinity ground, Benaulim, on Tuesday.

The game kicked-off with The Red Machine showcasing their attacking prowess, notably from an early corner that tested the Calangute goalkeeper forcing him into a full-stretched dive to make a crucial save.

The breakthrough came in the fifth minute when with Trijoy Dias of Churchill Brothers found the net after unleashed a shot after the ball deflected off a rival defender. Undeterred, Calangute Association launched a series of attacks, with youthful exuberance which was evenly matched by the experienced heads of the Red Machines.

The first half unfolded with a strategic defensive play from Churchill Brothers to keep the Calangute Association attack at bay, resulting in an evenly poised battle.

Just around the half-time mark, Calangute Association orchestrated a brilliant play to breach the Churchill defense. A quick interplay of passes from the left-wing ended with defender Pratesh Chandrakant Shirodkar whose well-timed movement inside the box allowed his snap time shot, catching the Churchill Brothers defence off guard and levelling the score.

Both the teams were tied 1-1 at the lemon break.

The second half witnessed an early surge from Red Machine as both the teams pressed relentless launching a vigorous attack. Midfielder Alent Colaco's shot found the roof of the net in the in the 51st minute.

Calangute Association came close to scoring a goal couple of times but failed to find the net. They were trailing 1-0 but they came out all guns blazing in the second half but the rival defenders stood tall and protected their slender lead.

At Tilak Maidan, Sporting Clube de Goa's suffered a 1-3 defeat to Sesa FA.

Sesa took the lead in the 19th minute when Clencio Pinto charged into the rival area.

The attacker first deceived Sporting's left-back Dhiraj Chouhan and then evaded a tackle from Alton Vaz to set up Shridarnath Gawas at the far post for an easy tap-in.

Four minutes into the second half, Sporting equalised. After a short corner, Samuel Costa's cross found Kunal Kundaikar and his fierce shot was connected by substitute Alister Anthony.

However, Sesa earned the controversial penalty in the 59th minute as Joshua was not flagged offside and was eventually brought down by Dhiraj in the danger zone.

Joshua stepped up for the spot kick and calmly got the better of Sporting custodian Bhaskar Jalmi.

Sporting dominated the last quarter, but a goal eluded them as headers from Dhiraj and a shot from Akeraj sailed over. In added time, Joshua secured his brace with a clinical finish.

At Nagoa, Guardian Angel SC and Pax of Nagoa played to a goalless draw.