Chennai City FC rode on goals from Michael Soosairaj and Charles to get past Minerva Punjab FC 2-0 in an I-League football encounter at the Guru Nanak Stadium here on Saturday.
Soosairaj scored in the 41st minute while Charles extended the slender lead in the second half injury time to help the southern debutants move to seventh position in the points table with 16 points from 15 matches. Minerva meanwhile remained ninth having 12 points from 14 ties.
Just when it looked like both teams would head into the break without breaking the deadlock, Soosairaj got Chennai in front. Soosairaj slotted home from close as Sang-Min Kim could not reach the ball, leaving keeper Arnab Das Sharma with too much to do.
Souvik Das replaced Altamash Sayed and Kamalpreet Singh made way for David Ngaihte as Minerva coach Surinder Singh ringed in the changes after halftime hoping to change the tide of the game.
But nothing of that sort happened as Charles found the back of the net in the dying minutes of the match to ensure full points for his team.
--IANS
dm/pur/bg