White is the colour of a whitewash and also ghosts! It also is the colour of stars that symbolically hover around one’s head when he or they are stunned.
MUMBAI: White is the colour of a whitewash and also ghosts! It also is the colour of stars that symbolically hover around one’s head when he or they are stunned.
Late on Thursday evening, the team members of Mahindra United, also known as the Red Brigade, were trooping out as zombies as if they have seen a ghost. A loss to Churchill Brothers would have been given but a 5-1 whitewash and completely outplayed in all departments of the game, the jeepmen must be thinking they got cataract in their eyes.
Held by Air-India – also in white – in the first round, the white flock of Churchill Brothers came in bursts of speed right from the word go to leave the hosts breathless and panting. Lead striker Odafe Okolie was always going to be a dangerous proposition but his combination with partner-in-crime Mboyo Iyomi proved to be deadly.
The latter scored two goals and assisted one to be rightly adjudged the man-of-the-match. With mostly youngsters in its side and led by a shrewd coach in Karim Bencharifa, Churchill has been moving from strength to strength.
Despite the fact that the jeepmen are yet to recover the mass exodus last year, the margin of victory had even Bencharifa surprised. “My boys just stuck to the plan and we blocked out every move from them and concentrated on just ball possession. And all my boys responded well,” he said later.
The formula fetched bigger rewards because the strategy had the already-brittle midfield in splits.
Besides, slow starters that they are, Churchill pounced on the passes and, with Khantang Paite and Vashum Reisangmei firing in from the flanks, immediately found the results. As early as in the 13th minute, a Paite cross was headed in by Iyomi past the hapless Sandip Nandy, who was out of position.
Eight minutes later, Paite sent in a left-footed screamer on a rebound and into the far post even before anybody could react. By now, Nandy was already fraught and nervous and it could have been worse three minutes later. Odafe got an open shot at the goal but Sushanth Mathew dived and took the sting off his shot to make Nandy’s job easier.
In the 38th minute, another one-two between Reisangmei and Odafe had the defence in knots and Nandy was forced to step out proving easy fodder for Odafe.
Even as the jeepmen were looking forward to some respite from the breather, Paite moved in from the left but Nandy anticipated well, ran out and blocked out the attempt. But sadly, the clearance got blocked out by a Mahindra defender and strayed on to Reisangmei who had a successful shy at the open goal.
“The first half proved too much for us,” admitted coach Derrick Pereira later and also conceded that this was his worst match as a player and coach.
The former stopper-back sensibly brought Yasif Yakubu back in the middle to ensure better ball possession. Yakubu replied well, his set-piece finding the net in the 69th minute for the consolatory goal.
But the Churchill wizardry, despite going easy on the attack after the breather, was simply at another level. In the dying moments, they decided to leave one more stamp of authority when Naoba Singh took a free kick a few yards from inside Mahindra’s half. Before the ball could land, Iyomi swooped in and
deflected the ball in like a sweeping brush of an artist.
Air-India held again
Meanwhile, Air-India split points again after an 86th minute goal by substitute Milagres Gonsalves helped Salgaocar negate Santosh Koli’s strike in the 78th minute at Fatorda.
Viva Kerala also stunned Mohun Bagan at their home in Kolkata, winning 3-1. Air-India next meet Viva Kerala in Mumbai.
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