The Hindu : Sport / Football : Air-India stops Churchill's unbeaten run

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Monday, Feb 19, 2007
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Air-India stops Churchill's unbeaten run

Mumbai: The unbeaten run of Churchill Brothers finally came to an end when it suffered a 2-0 defeat at the hands of local outfit Air-India in a fifth round clash of the 11th National Football League at the Cooperage here on Sunday.

Air-India pocketed the maximum three points as it sustained its fine start. An early goal by forward Samson Singh set up things superbly for Air-India, which enhanced its lead midway through the second half, courtesy an own goal by Churchill's substitute defender Selwyn Fernandes.

Air-India, has now moved into the second place with 10 points, while the Goan outfit, which played the major part of the second half with 10 men remained on six.

Going into the match with an unbeaten run at home, Air-India took the lead in the 10th minute through a fine header by Samson at the near post following a pass from Bashiru Abass.

Unable to recapture the form of earlier matches, Churchill looked short of quality in the midfield it lacked the sharpness and vision in its attacks.

Churchill's chances of staging a comeback got remote when forward George Ekeh was shown a red card in the 58th minute. A counter down the right initiated by Air-India's Sanju Pradhan (Man of the Match) culminated in Selwyn, attempting to clear the ball, managed to find the back of his own net. — PTI

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