Plaza brace helps Churchill Brothers beat Neroca FC 2-1

Trinidad and Tobago striker Willis Deon Plaza struck twice in the final five minutes as Churchill Brothers made a remarkable fightback to beat Neroca FC 2-1 in a dramatic match and remain in the I-League title hunt here on Saturday.

Neroca seemed to have sealed three points, thanks to a Varney Kallon strike in the 24th minute before Plaza struck twice in the 85th and 90+1 minute to break their hearts.

It was an amazing turnaround and with this win, Churchill reached 25 points from 13 games to be placed at joint second with Real Kashmir FC (25 from 13 matches). Both Churchill Brothers and Real Kashmir are five points behind league leaders Chennai City FC (30 points from 13 matches).

Neroca remained in the fifth position with 21 points from 13 matches.

It was one of the best games of the season and Neroca would consider themselves unlucky to be on the losing side after coming so close.

With Saturday's two strikes, Plaza joined Chennai City's Pedro Manzi at the top of the I-League goal scoring charts with 13 each.

Churchill made one change in the playing eleven from the previous game as Nenad Novakovic came in place of Hussein Eldor in deep defence. Neroca's Spanish coach Manuel Fraile, on the other hand, made two changes, replacing Saran Singh and Ashok with Tondomba Singh and Meetei.

In a thrilling end to end encounter, as was expected from two attack-minded sides, Plaza got his first clear chance of the game in the 13th minute when he latched on to a defensive error and got into a scoring position inside the box but narrowly missed the target after beating the keeper.

In the 18th minute, Neroca's Australian import Aryn Williams turned one around towards goal off a corner, but it was comfortable for keeper James Kithan to collect.

Neroca took the lead against the run of play and for the umpteenth time in this edition of the I-League, it resulted from a set-piece. Malem took the free-kick from outside the Churchill box from the left flank and floated in a right-footed curler towards the near post.

Liberian defender Kallon had come in specifically for this routine and got ahead of his marker to deflect the ball into the Churchill net past keeper Kithan.

Churchill looked to hit back immediately and Dawda Cessay got at the end of an Anthony Wolfe pass. He controlled the ball beautifully to float it back in towards the Trinidadian Wolfe, whose effort sailed just over the bar.

Then in the 40th minute, the home side came close to scoring twice. First, Richard Costa's shot from inside the box went just wide and then a Dawda Cessay effort was collected by Lalit Thapa in the Neroca goal.

The half ended with another rasping drive by the Gambian Cessay which was parried away by Thapa.

Churchill began with a flurry in the second half but it was Neroca who had the first gilt-edged opportunity when Subhash found Katsumi Yusa with a cross from the left flank but the Japanese winger's angled header just missed the post.

Lalit Thapa then brought off a couple of saves, first off a Cessay free-kick and then off a Khalid Aucho pile driver.

In the 66th minute, Katsumi got a lovely cross from Nigerian striker Felix Chidi, but he failed to trap properly and Kithan collected the ball from his feet bravely.

Then Malem's free-kick in the 72nd minute curled from outside the wall but again missed narrowly although Kithan seemed to have it covered.

Plaza then turned the game on its head with two telling strikes.

Dawda Cessay executed a perfect pass from midfield sighting Plaza's run in between two defenders. The Trinidadian, who has been in clinical finishing form, unleashed a left footer across Kithan and into the Neroca net. This was in the 85th minute.

Then in the first minute of the added time, substitute Israil Gurung floated the ball in from a corner and Plaza jumped over his marker near the first post and found the back of the net again with a brilliant header.