Attacking football is not a trait generally associated with Air-India, but it was an action-packed thriller that they dished out for their home fans on Sunday. Unfortunately for Bimal Ghosh and his boys, though, they ended up paying for their uncharacteristic expansiveness as they suffered a 3-2 loss at the hands of defending I-League champions Churchill Brothers at the Cooperage. Churchill’s Nigerian striker Kalu Nnanna ended up with the Man of the Match honours after scoring a brace to bring his team back into the game.

Churchill were made to feel the heat very early as Dada Nabeel scored in the fourth minute to give the home team the lead, heading in a cross from a corner. Churchill captain Odofa Okole’s attempts at restoring parity went in vain as Air-India continued to relent for the first half-hour.

The next seven minutes of the game though belonged entirely to Kalu as he first equalised and then gave his team the lead with a second strike within seven minutes of the first.

The visitors weren’t given the luxury of going into the break with the lead, though, as Air-India equalised at the brink of half-time through a clean ND Opara strike.

Just when the contest seemed to be heading towards a draw, Churchill received a huge reprieve after a controversial decision from the linesman. Soccor Velho’s effort went through the gloves of Churchill goalkeeper Lalit Thapa into the back of the net, but the goal was disallowed. Odafa then scored in the 86th minute to earn three points for the Goan outfit, who moved to fourth in the table.

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