Churchill Brothers registered their second consecutive victory with a 2-0 win over Shillong Lajong FC in an I-League encounter at the Tilak Maidan Stadium here on Friday.
Monday Osagie (eighth minute) and P.M. Britto (76th) scored in either half for the hosts.
Despite the win, Churchill continue to be second from bottom in the 10-team table with seven points from eight matches.
Lajong hold on to the fourth spot with 18 points from 11 matches.
They have the same number of points as third placed Neroca FC, but trail on goal difference.
Lajong are just one point shy of second placed East Bengal and four points adrift of table toppers Minerva Punjab FC.
Churchill are now unbeaten for the last three matches. They had defeated Gokulam Kerala FC 3-2 in their last game and had held formidable East Bengal to a 1-1 draw before that.
Going into the game, Churchill Brothers introduced new foreign recruits Eldor Hussein and Dawda Ceesay into their starting XI.
Richard Costa and Y.D. Meetei were also given starts as Churchill coach Alfred Fernandes fielded an attacking line-up against Shillong Lajong.
And it didn't take long for the hosts to take the lead thanks to a defensive error by Shillong Lajong goalkeeper Phurba Tempa Lachenpa.
Churchill centre-back Osagie Monday saw Tempa out of his line and launched a ball in his direction from his own half.
Tempa could not get back in time as he produced a weak attempt to palm the ball over the post. But the ball simply hit his palm and bounced a few times before entering the net.
The Lajong defence were all over the place and Churchill Brothers' attackers were running riot as Kalu Ogba and Koffi Mechac came close.
But they suffered a setback when Kalu Ogba had to be taken off in the 22nd minute after he sustained an injury.
He was replaced by another new signing Bektur Talgat and the Kyrgyz midfielder made an immediate impact. A string of passes saw Britto feed Bektur on the edge of the box who then laid it off for Wayne Vaz.
Vaz took a touch and drilled the ball goalwards but the keeper managed to tip it over the bar.
After being outplayed, Shillong started enjoying a few chances. Captain Samuel Lalmuanpuia took a free-kick from almost 30 yards out that didn't go beyond the wall. They had a few half-chances.
Lajong started the second half more purposefully and had an early chance when their defender Laurence Doe tried to head in a corner towards the far post but missed by a few yards.
They had another opportunity in the 53rd minute when Lalrohlua launched a diagonal ball from the left to the unmarked Cliff Nongbri who took a touch and fired a shot across goal only to see it go wide.
But their best chance came when their striker Saihou Jagne hit the post from eight yards out.
Shillong looked a completely different team in the second half and took the game to Churchill.
They nearly equalised in the 71st minute when Lalrouhlua tried a thundering long ranger from about 35 yards which brushed goalkeeper James Kithan's fist and hit the top left corner of the woodwork.
Meanwhile, in their bid to find an equaliser, they were exposed at the back and Churchill Brothers punished them when a quick counter-attack saw Britto cut in from the right and line up a left-foot curler.
Britto was allowed enough time and space on the ball as he unleashed a curler from outside the box that swerved past Tempa.
--IANS
ajb/dg
(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
