The Hindu : Sport / Football : Churchill Brothers draws with HASC

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Friday, Feb 23, 2007
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Churchill Brothers draws with HASC

Principal Correspondent

TOUGH DUEL: Churchill Brothers's Thokchom Naoba Singh (left) and HASC's Raghui Singh fight for possession. — Photo: V. Sreenivasa Murthy

Bangalore: Hindustan Aeronautics Sports Club (HASC) slotted in a goal in the opening minute of its sixth round National Football League match against Churchill Brothers here on Thursday. But in the second half Churchill Brothers scored the equaliser. The match ended in a 1-1 draw and it was a fair reflection of the contest.

In the very first minute HASC's Bhuvan Singh sent a pass from the mid-field to captain Xavier Vijaya Kumar, who in turn gave it to an unmarked C. Prakash. Meanwhile, the Churchill Brothers's defence scurried backwards as Prakash centred in for a charging Xavier but before the HASC captain could get his boot to the ball, defender Roque Barreto in a bid to clear, did a sliding kick which pierced his own citadel past a shocked goalkeeper Vinay Singh.

The self-goal left the visitor in a state of anxiety. Churchill Brothers slowly began to find its feet as key striker and captain Odafe Onyeka Okolie made some moves in the HASC goalmouth. The HASC goalkeeper and `Player of the Match' N. Balaji foiled a sinister header from Odafe.

Equaliser

The equaliser came in the 69th minute for Churchill. A foul on Odafe, just outside the box, elicited a free-kick which Robert Lalthlamvana crashed into the `wall' before latching on to the rebound and kicking it in past Balaji's outstretched hands. The match soon petered out and both teams gained a lone point each for the draw. HASC has six points from six matches, while Churchill Brothers has seven from six outings.

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