Plaza’s double strike helps Churchill beat Dynamos
BHUBANESWAR: Relegated I-league outfit Churchill Brothers rallied to beat Indian Super League (ISL) side Delhi Dynamos 2-1 in extra time in a Super Cup qualifier on Thursday.
Both teams were locked 1-1 after regulation time after Nigerian striker Kalu Uche (6’) opened the scoring for Delhi only for Trinidad and Tobago player Willis Plaza (35’) to equalise. There were no goals in the second half as the match headed for extra time. Plaza helped Churchill take the lead for the first time with a crisp strike in the 106th minute to guide the Goa team into the final round where they will take on Mohun Bagan on April 1.
The game got off to a flying start as Delhi took the the lead as early as the sixth minute.
Uche made the most of the space afforded to him, unleashing a screamer from the edge of the box with the goalkeeper off the line and past defender Osagie Monday into the net. Churchill struggled to get any kind of momentum after the early jolt allowing ample time to Delhi midfielders to control play at the centre of the park.
As the game neared the halfhour mark, Churchill began to find momentum and Nicholas Fernandes even found the back of the net after a neat buildup play, only for referee to rule the Goan winger offside. Churchill though were not denied minutes later when Plaza stabbed home a inchperfect cross from Fernandes.
After halftime, Delhi got a chance to reclaim their lead when Mirabaje carved open Churchill’s defence to find for Seityasen Singh but Monday came to the rescue in time. Plaza, brilliant on the night, troubled Delhi’s defence and came close on a few occasions.
Both teams could not be separated at the end of the full time as well as first half extra time. Right at the beginning of the second half, a long ball from Meitei was brilliantly brought down by Plaza, who kept his composure to calmly slot it past Xabier.
Delhi threw the kitchen sink at Churchill in the dying minutes of the match but the I-league straggleres held fort and scripted an unlikely victory.
GOKULAM EASE PAST NORTHEAST UNITED
A double strike by Ugandan striker Henry Kisekka (43rd and 75th minute) gave Gokulam a 2-0 win over Northeast United.
Both sides were evenly matched till two minutes before the breather when Arjun Jayaraj sent a brilliant through ball for Kisekka on the right side and the Ugandan took a shot at goal from the right edge of the box and found the back of the net.
The second goal also came from the same combination. Arjun Jayaraj’s square pass from the right found Kisekka who made no mistake in putting the ball into the net.
ATK, CHENNAI CITY EYE FRESH START
Their Indian Super League campaign having ended in a disaster, ATK would look to start afresh when they take on Chennai City in a qualifying round match on Friday ATK finished ninth in the 10-team league this year, picking up just four wins out of 18 matches .
Chennai City, on the other hand, had finished eighth in the I-league and would want to prove that their wins over champions Minerva Punjab FC and Mohun Bagan were no fluke.
MUMBAI CITY WON’T TAKE ARROWS LIGHTLY
The Aiffdevelopmental team, Indian Arrows will aim to continue the good work when they face Mumbai City FC in the third qualifier on Friday. “We are in a process and we’ll continue to show that we are able to showcase good of football, no matter who are we facing,” Arrows coach Luis Norton de Matos said.
Mumbai City coach Alexandre Guimarães lauded Arrows: ‘’This is a very good idea to give Arrows a chance to compete with professionals.’’