Guardian Angel ease past Pax of Nagoa 4-2
Benaulim/ Nagoa: Churchill Brothers and Guardian Angel secured wins in their respective matches in the Goa Professional League relegation zone on Thursday.
At Benaulim ground, Churchill Brothers defeated Panjim Footballers 4-2.
The deadlock was finally broken in the 50th minute when Alent Colaco played a precise through ball to Haokip, who rounded goalkeeper Bhaskar Jalmi before slotting home on the rebound. Panjim nearly hit back through Ajay Raj’s thunderous free-kick, but the woodwork denied him.
Minutes later, Churchill doubled their lead in dramatic fashion as Jolly Singh’s low strike took a wicked deflection off Sainath Kankonkar, wrong-footing Jalmi and nestling into the net. However, Churchill were soon down to ten men when Scott Fernandes received a straight red for dissent, piling pressure on his side.
Despite the setback, Haokip extended Churchill’s lead with a moment of brilliance, winning possession at the edge of the box before executing a delicate chip over the advancing keeper. Panjim found late hope when Veron Pereira curled in a stunning effort from the left before converting a stoppage-time penalty after Richie Vaz’s strike was handled in the box.
But Haokip had the final say, completing his hat-trick in emphatic style. Alent Colaco’s pinpoint through ball sent him racing into the box, where he smashed his shot through Jalmi’s legs to seal a dominant Churchill Brothers victory.
Meanwhile at Nagoa ground, Guardian Angel clinched a 4-2 victory over Pax of Nagoa, fueled by a stunning hat-trick from Ronald Singh while own goal from Clemente further bolstered Guardian Angel’s tally. While Nagoa fought back with strikes from Stephen Satarkar and Shubert Pereira to reduce the deficit.
