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Mahindras shock Churchill Brothers

Joel Antonio

Mahindra and Mahindra probably did Mohun Bagan a big favour on Tuesday. By eking out a solitary goal triumph over second-placed Churchill Brothers in their 'away' National Football League match at the Nehru Stadium in Fatorda, Goa.

In the process, they not only avenged their 'home' defeat at the hands of the Goan outfit but also made Bagan's path to the title that a lot easier.

The loss of points comes as a big setback to Churchill's hopes of claiming the title since Bagan now need a mere five points from their remaining three matches to claim the pennant. The Calcutta giants have fairly easy pickings left from an away match against State Bank of Travancore and two home matches against East Bengal and Tollygunge Agragami.

The match was played at a fast pace with the Bombay outfit exercising better control and gaining a better share of the exchanges. And had it not been for the prodigality of their Jordanian striker Bassam Khatib, they could have won by a healthier looking scoreline. The Jordanian import blew at least four clear chances and was replaced by Manjit Singh.

The change turned out to be a fruitful one for Manjit it was who fetched the jeepmen the all important goal five minutes from the end. He stole the ball from Churchill defender Antony Mathews and even as Churchill goalkeeper Edward Ansah left his charge to offer a very small target, Manjit unleashed a powerful shot which zoomed to the net.

In Calcutta, the faint flicker of hope Jagatjit Cotton and Textile Mills, Phagwara, had, dimmed into obscurity when they played out a goalless draw with East Bengal in their away match. The earlier contest between the two sides in Ludhiana too had ended in a similar result.

JCT, who have two matches in hand, now have 31 points from 20 matches and cannot catch up with leaders Mohun Bagan who have 41 points from 19 matches.

Before a handful of diehard fans, the teams dished out mediocre fare. There was hardly any constructive soccer on display and just a few scoring chances, most of them coming East Bengal's way.

The first clear scoring opportunity, however, came JCT's way in the 21st minute. However, Sukhjit Singh, after trapping a miskick by East Bengal custodian Prasanta Dora, was unable to control his shot at goal and the ball sailed over the crossbar.

Yet, East Bengal looked the wee-bit sharper. And in the 36th minute they were denied a goal as Emmanuel Opoku's powerful shot from 20 yards out crashed into the upright. Then, Bijen Singh fumbled twice in quick succession. First, off an intelligent through from Carlton Chapman, he hit straight into goalkeeper Baljit Singh and, off the rebound, his back volley was wide of the target.

On resumption, JCT is was once again who came by the first good chance. Jaswant Singh moved well down the left flank and sent a beauty of a floater into the rival area, catching the entire defence on the wrong foot. However, Hardip Gill who was at the other end of the cross failed to trap.

The best chance, however, came East Bengal's way in the 54th minute. The tall Brazilian striker Oseias Ferreira intelligently headed forward a cross from the left by Renedy Singh to the unmarked Chapman. However, the former India skipper dilly-dallied inside the area and blew what was a gilt-edged chance.

East Bengal wasted yet another chance as the minutes ticked off to the final whistle. Sheikh Sanjib drove straight into goalkeeper Dora from close quarters and, off the rebound, Willy Brown's shot deflected off JCT stopper Deepak Mondal and balooned over the bar.

On Wednesday, Tollygunge Agragami take on Border Security Force at the Rabindra Sarobar. From 19 matches, the Calcutta dark-horse has gathered 25 points, while BSF are fighting relegation with nine points from 19 matches.

In Raiganj, Tata Football Academy blanked Benaras Dynamo 10-0 in a group II encounter of the Division II National Football League on Monday.

Mohd. Kaizer scored three goals, Trijit Das and K.S. Singh got two each, and one apiece came from S.K.Bharati, Moin-ul Haque and Bombay boy Alex Ambrose.