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Federation Cup: Odafa Powers Churchill Victory
Riding on Odafa Okolie’s brace, Ten-men Churchill Brothers did enough to win against Mohammedan Sporting in a Group B Federation Cup clash at the Barasat Stadium, Kolkata. Mohammedan Sporting 1-2 Churchill Brothers.
05-Dec-2008 7:58:07 PM
Churchill
named an unchanged line-up for their Federation Cup opener against Mohammedan
Sporting SC from the last I-League game against East Bengal. The Kolkata side
had to name an all Indian side as the two foreigners registered for the
tournament went missing.
The match started disastrously for Churchill Brothers like the one against East Bengal a few days back. A long ball from Mohammedan half for Vimal Pariyar could have been controlled by Govin Singh. The Churchill defender lost his footing which allowed Vimal to be in a one-on-one situation. Goalkeeper Arindam Bhattacharya came out and tripped the Mohammedan number 18 and was sent off in the third minute.
Naoba Singh was crucified and in came goalkeeper Lalit Thapa. Mohammedan did enjoy a brief spell of possession and did look like creating some good openings especially from the left. Mir Farooq and Jothi Kumar combined well with the former sending in a curling cross for Gautam Thakur whose header sailed over the bar.
Thereafter, Churchill Brothers took control of the proceedings and were at ease despite being a man down. An Odafa Okolie free-kick saw Gouramangi get behind the back of the defense and head it over.
The 16th minute saw Odafa take on two defenders and thereby, went for glory himself. The shot wasn’t well directed and came towards Bineesh Balan who did his best to direct it with his header but with no great result.
It was Mohammedan who created the best move of the match. Sovan Chakraborty sent in a perfect through ball to Gautam Thakur who took it on the turn but his shot was way off the target.
The Kolkata side were throwing as many men to not allow Odafa any space to work or shoot. Anit Ghosh did make some crucial tackles to save his side.
The goal came when Gouramangi sent a searching ball in the box. Odafa Okolie was brought down by goalkeeper Tharangachan with defender Madhab Das being slow to react. The Nigerian coolly placed it to the left of the custodian. It was very surprising that the referee didn’t show a card to the Mohammedan custodian.
Odafa drew the defenders towards him and often released his players who were seen making the runs from the back. In one such move Raju sent in a cross inside the box after being released Odafa but Azim was equal to the task. The corner-kick fell right at the feet of Gouramangi Singh but the Indian international couldn’t take a second touch. Mohammedan’s Madhab Das stamped Gouramangi unsportingly and there broke out a minor scuffle.
In the second session, Mohammedan pressed for an equaliser at the early stages while Churchill were ambitious enough to kill the game as they went about for the second goal. Kalu started a move from the middle and found Odafa. The Churchill number ten cut inside to sent in a fierce left footer which was blocked by a defender. The ball fell for Kalu who volleyed it only to see Tharangachan pull off a fantastic save.
A couple of minutes later, Gouramangi Singh headed a corner-kick towards Odafa but the striker and Tharacgachan clashed for which the referee gave Mohammedan the free-kick.
Kalu could have scored once again but it was the brilliance of Tharangachan which once again denied him. Kalu won the ball after a Mohammedan defender cleared a corner-kick. The Nigerian lobbed it but the north eastern custodian punched it away.
Mohammedan Sporting equalised through Jothi Kumar after substitute Satyajit Bose crossed from the right. Robert Lalthampuana was slack in his defending as he allowed Satyajit to run with the ball in the first place. '
The 88th minute was crucial as Mohammedan could have scored the winner after a goalmouth melee in the Churchill box. Gouramangi Singh and Odafa Okolie combined once again as they latter turned and scored the winner. It was Gouramangi Singh who sent the long ball from his half as the Mohammedan defenders looked tired towards the closing stages of the game.
The Kolkata side had a great chance to equalise but the chance went begging after Satyajit Bose foxed Govin Singh to send a ball across the face of the Churchill goal. Mohammedan strikers – Gautam Thakur and Vimal Pariyar were late to react and the match ended disappointingly for them.
Goalscorer Churchill: Odafa Okolie (29th pen and 88th min)
Goalscorer Mohammedan: Jothi Kumar (73rd min)
The match started disastrously for Churchill Brothers like the one against East Bengal a few days back. A long ball from Mohammedan half for Vimal Pariyar could have been controlled by Govin Singh. The Churchill defender lost his footing which allowed Vimal to be in a one-on-one situation. Goalkeeper Arindam Bhattacharya came out and tripped the Mohammedan number 18 and was sent off in the third minute.
Naoba Singh was crucified and in came goalkeeper Lalit Thapa. Mohammedan did enjoy a brief spell of possession and did look like creating some good openings especially from the left. Mir Farooq and Jothi Kumar combined well with the former sending in a curling cross for Gautam Thakur whose header sailed over the bar.
Thereafter, Churchill Brothers took control of the proceedings and were at ease despite being a man down. An Odafa Okolie free-kick saw Gouramangi get behind the back of the defense and head it over.
The 16th minute saw Odafa take on two defenders and thereby, went for glory himself. The shot wasn’t well directed and came towards Bineesh Balan who did his best to direct it with his header but with no great result.
It was Mohammedan who created the best move of the match. Sovan Chakraborty sent in a perfect through ball to Gautam Thakur who took it on the turn but his shot was way off the target.
The Kolkata side were throwing as many men to not allow Odafa any space to work or shoot. Anit Ghosh did make some crucial tackles to save his side.
The goal came when Gouramangi sent a searching ball in the box. Odafa Okolie was brought down by goalkeeper Tharangachan with defender Madhab Das being slow to react. The Nigerian coolly placed it to the left of the custodian. It was very surprising that the referee didn’t show a card to the Mohammedan custodian.
Odafa drew the defenders towards him and often released his players who were seen making the runs from the back. In one such move Raju sent in a cross inside the box after being released Odafa but Azim was equal to the task. The corner-kick fell right at the feet of Gouramangi Singh but the Indian international couldn’t take a second touch. Mohammedan’s Madhab Das stamped Gouramangi unsportingly and there broke out a minor scuffle.
In the second session, Mohammedan pressed for an equaliser at the early stages while Churchill were ambitious enough to kill the game as they went about for the second goal. Kalu started a move from the middle and found Odafa. The Churchill number ten cut inside to sent in a fierce left footer which was blocked by a defender. The ball fell for Kalu who volleyed it only to see Tharangachan pull off a fantastic save.
A couple of minutes later, Gouramangi Singh headed a corner-kick towards Odafa but the striker and Tharacgachan clashed for which the referee gave Mohammedan the free-kick.
Kalu could have scored once again but it was the brilliance of Tharangachan which once again denied him. Kalu won the ball after a Mohammedan defender cleared a corner-kick. The Nigerian lobbed it but the north eastern custodian punched it away.
Mohammedan Sporting equalised through Jothi Kumar after substitute Satyajit Bose crossed from the right. Robert Lalthampuana was slack in his defending as he allowed Satyajit to run with the ball in the first place. '
The 88th minute was crucial as Mohammedan could have scored the winner after a goalmouth melee in the Churchill box. Gouramangi Singh and Odafa Okolie combined once again as they latter turned and scored the winner. It was Gouramangi Singh who sent the long ball from his half as the Mohammedan defenders looked tired towards the closing stages of the game.
The Kolkata side had a great chance to equalise but the chance went begging after Satyajit Bose foxed Govin Singh to send a ball across the face of the Churchill goal. Mohammedan strikers – Gautam Thakur and Vimal Pariyar were late to react and the match ended disappointingly for them.
Goalscorer Churchill: Odafa Okolie (29th pen and 88th min)
Goalscorer Mohammedan: Jothi Kumar (73rd min)
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