I-League: Beto brace sets up Churchill Brothers victory

Churchill Brothers played true to their reputation to hold off the challenge of youthful Pailan Arrows 3-0 in the 10th round of the I-League at Kolkata's Salt Lake Stadium on Monday.

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Happening just a day after the abandonment of the violence-ridden derby of the city giants East Bengal and Mohun Bagan, the Churchill-Arrows contest was fine study in contrast.

The two team played attractive football where Churchill Brothers gained for having better scorers in their fold. Playing their third consecutive away match Churchill Brothers maintained a fine consistency and found the break in the third minute of the match.

Making the most of their attacking 4-3-3 formation, Bineesh Balan collected a nice through-pass from Brazilian game-maker Roberto Mendes silva (Beto) and fired a powerful shot that found the net after touching the hand of Arrows' goalkeeper Ravi Kumar. The early goal set the tone of the match as Arrows failed to find the equaliser in the remainder of the first half, which Churchill led 1-0.

The second half compounded the problems of the home side, Arrows, as Churchill Brothers doubled the lead in the 50th minute.

This time there was a reversal of roles when Balan took up the role of a provider with nice centre that Beto nodded home. Another goal eight minutes later ended Arrows' hopes of making a comeback. Beto made it 3-0 in the 58th minute from an indirect free-kick to give Churchill the full quota of points.

Churchill Brother tallied 22 points from 10 matches while Arrows remained on 14.

Photograph: AIFF Media