Churchill Brothers edge past Pax of Nagoa

PANAJI

Churchill Brothers edged past Pax of Nagoa 2-1 in the Goa Professional League at the Raia panchayat ground on Thursday.

Churchill opened the scoring in the 14th minute when Richard Costa intercepted a poor clearance and played in Dinesh Aribam, who struck a low shot from outside the box. The effort took a slight deflection off a Nagoa defender before rolling into the net.

Nagoa hit back ten minutes later after Minesh Kunkolkar floated a teasing ball into the Churchill box that caused confusion in the backline. The clearance fell to Beneston Barretto, whose shot deflected off Tluangtea, allowing the forward to react quickly and tap home from close range to level the score.

Churchill almost regained the lead before halftime when Jyothish whipped in a dangerous cross that found Costa unmarked in the box. His strike was blocked by a defender, and the rebound fell to Joshua Leitao, whose fierce effort rattled the woodwork and bounced clear.

After the restart, Churchill looked the stronger side, constantly pushing forward and testing the Nagoa defence. Their persistence finally paid off in the 76th minute when Dinesh Aribam curled in a well-placed corner from the right. Costa rose highest at the far post and powered his header past the goalkeeper to restore Churchill’s lead.

Nagoa came close to an equaliser late in the game when Stephen Satarkar dribbled down the left and curled a shot towards the far post, but the Churchill goalkeeper produced a superb diving save to deny him. Despite Nagoa’s late pressure, Churchill held firm at the back to secure a 2-1 victory and all three points.

Elsewhere, Sesa FA edged past Bidesh XI SC 1-0 at Duler Stadium, Mapusa. After a goalless first half, Sesa found the breakthrough in the 63rd minute when Jeff Dias set up TP Rohith, who spotted the goalkeeper off his line and unleashed a brilliant long-range strike that sailed into the top left corner. Bidesh XI pushed hard in the final stages, but Sesa’s defence stayed solid to close out the win and claim all three points.