Churchill Brothers 6 Mahindra United 1

Churchill Brothers 6 Mahindra United 1
Shailendra Awasthi

Mumbai, December 30: On Saturday Mahindras were not United! They had all the negative points. Lack of proper planning, absence of top players and above all, poor, very poor defence. It took just one goal for Churchill Brothers to realise it and move in for kill. They rained six in all to crush city giants 6-1 in the Group A league encounter of the 100th Bristol Rovers Cup, that got underway at the Cooperage.

In another match of the same group that was played later in the evening, Calcutta giants East Bengal and JCT Club split points with a 1-1 draw.

Amidst the roaring local supporters, Mahindras started on a positive note as they made some good moves and worked their way into the rival camp but poor finishing denied them scoring opportunities. Anthony Pereira had a first attempt in the early stages but shot over. Abhay Kumar too went in with a solo effort but shot straight to advancing Churchill custodian Edward Ansah.

But this initial aggression disappeared once Curchill went one-up in the 26th minute thanks to a defensive lapse by ace defender Bernard Oparanozie which enabled Churchill's Jose Colaso to pass it to Somtai Shaiza. Shaiza's shot went through the hands of custodian Salim Ansari, who again tried to grab it but instead pulled the legs of Churchill's Edson Jaden. Referee showed the yellow card to the custodian and awarded the penalty in favour of Churchill. Edson made no mistake.

This goal exposed all the weakness of Mahindras. After the breather, former Mahindra player and now playing for Churchill, Uday Konar, made the full use of demoralised rivals. He increased the Churchill's tally to 2-0 in the 48th minute through a pass from Ajay Kumar Singh and consolidated the same with another goal five minutes later. This time on a Colaso's centre.

Mahindras were visibly a beaten side by then. Their midfield looked spineless, there defence pathetic and forwards simply had no clue.

Ajay Kumar Singh and Uday again worked in tandem to give Churchill the fourth goal in the 70th minute. This time the duo lobbed the ball to Edson Jaden who side volleyed it into net.

Four minutes later Abbas Ali Rizvi got one back for Mahindras, slipping the ball easily through the legs of advancing Churchill custodian. But that was all and the only moment of joy for the local outfit.

In the 85th minute, Edson headed in on Somatai Shaiza's left footer that went across to him. And in the dying moments, Kaustav Ghosh landed the final blow. He shot straight from the top of the box with a perfect precision.

This victory gave three points to Churchill and sounded the warning bell for Mahindras whose campaign could well be over before it actually begins. They now have two tough opponents in the form of East Bengal (on January 1) and JCT (on January 3).

Later in the evening, JCT successfully warded off the spirited challenge of East Bengal and split a point each.

Both teams were well balanced in every department and were not prepared to give anything away. Both had their share of opportunities. In the 11th minute, Bengal forward Suleh's powerful right footer was blocked by JCT custodian Arvind Kumar.

In the 40th minute, JCT's Hardeep Gill had a perfect lob but Bengal custodian Nasim Akhtar just managed to push it over. A minute later, JCT's Sukhjit Singh's header landed on crossbar.

Finally Bengal succeeded in breaking the ice in the 47th minute. Sanjib went down the left flank with a solo run and gave a cross pass which Sreekanta Dutta tapped in neatly ensuring Bengal go to breather with a 1-0 lead.

But this goal did not worry JCT as they fired in all cylinders in the second half to get an equaliser. And they restored the parity in the 72nd minute. Hardeep Gill put them on par on a pass from Surjit Singh.

Sunday's fixture:

Iran Youth Team vs Air India (3 p.m.)

Mohun Bagan vs Salgaocar (5 p.m.)