Willis Plaza scored the only goal as Churchill Brothers returned to winning ways with a 1-0 victory over Indian Arrows at the Kalinga Stadium in Bhubaneswar on Saturday.
The victory was Churchill’s first in two matches – after defeats to Neroca and East Bengal – while Arrows lost for the sixth time in nine matches and after a draw and a win against Aizawl and Gokulam respectively.
Churchill jumped to fourth with 16 from 10 matches. Arrows from a game less are second-last in the point standings with 7 points.
Plaza, who with his ninth goal of the competition reached the top of the scoring charts, was a constant threat for Indian Arrows backline. He almost scored the opener in the fourth minute and it took a brilliant fingertip save from Prabhsukhan Gill to deny him.
But the young Arrows players did well to keep him quiet until the Trinidad and Tobago striker pounced on a loose ball in the 40th minute to put the visitors ahead, which turned out to be the eventual winner.
Centre-back Jitendra Singh only half-managed to clear a corner which fell kindly for Plaza to fire the ball home from close range.
The second half was a different affair for the home team as they dominated over Churchill and could have walked off with a point had Anwar Ali kept his shot on target. Boris Singh delivered a perfectly measured ball inside the box, which fell for the defender but he blasted his shot over.
Also read: Premier League: Roberto Firmino score a hat-trick as Liverpool hammer Arsenal