Odafa's Brilliance Sinks Mahindra

Odafa Okolie celebrated his son's birthday in style as he netted twice for Churchill Brothers and thus snap up the three points against Mahindra United in their opening I-League fixture at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, Goa. Final Score: 2-1.

Churchill brothers enjoyed much of the possession but the free flowing football was missing in the first half. Mahindra United were content to defend and looked to trouble with the home side with some long range efforts.

The first opportunity of the match befell Mahindra United as Douhou's ball was taken on the volley by a rushing Steven Dias to slot it wide in the sixth minute. A couple of minutes Robert Lalthampuana sprung into action but was challenged at the edge of the box by an alert Sushant Matthew to avert the danger.

Churchill skipper Odafa Okolie sprung into action as he brushed aside two Mahindra defenders and just as he was to pull the trigger, N.P.Pradeep's challenge saved his side from going down. The home side were guilty on squandering the possession easily and on one such occasion had to pay the price. Sushant Matthew's attempt from the right was fisted away by Churchill custodian Arindam Bhattacharya after the former won the second ball off a Chidi Edeh cross.

Steven Dias suffered a heavy tackle and was seen limping mid-way through the first half. Odafa had another great chance but his final shot went wide after Mahindra goalkeeper Subashish Chowdhary came out to stop the shot.Mahindra United allowed Churchill Brothers too much space on the right as Zenith made some good runs and found Justin Stephen out of place.Churchill centre backs Gourmangi and Govin Singh did their job with ease and didn't give Chidi or Douhou much to do.In the second minute of the first half injury time, Khan Thang Paite had a brilliant opportunity to change the scoreline but his shot went across the face of the goal as he aimed for the second post.

The second half began with Churchill brothers looking livelier and their midfield playing further upfront to support the two strikers. Felix Chimaokwu dropped back for the build-up as opposed to being in the box for the home side. Mahindra coach Derrick Pereira brought Izumi Arata for Steven Dias who wasn't at his best especially after the first half knock in the ankle.

The first goal of the match came in the 61st minute as Kalu passed for Odafa inside the box who cut inside defender Justin Stephen to send in a powerful left footed strike in the near post to beat goalkeeper Subashish Chowdhary. 'Happy Birthday to Odafa Junior' was the message on Odafa's vest as he celebrated his first goal of the new season.

Mohamed Rafi was substituted for Sushil Kumar as the former was hardly involved in the game. The substitution clicked for Mahindra as he equalised for the Red Devils seven minutes from time from a Douhou freekick. Churchill's defence was at fault for allowing too much space inside the area for Sushil to head. The match suddenly was brought to life and both teams weren't satisfied with an increasingly imminent draw.

Then came the moment of the match in the 88th minute as Odafa Okolie proved why he is the considered the best foreign player in the league. A cracking shot from 20 yards out into the top corner which gave goalkeeper Subashish Chowdhary absolutely no chance to save. Mahindra United and the crowd were shell shocked and Odafa celebrated his second of the day.Churchill could have added a third in the extra time when Naoba Singh's cross was cleared by Dhanraj Ravanan before Jaison Valles could strike from close range.

Mahindra United would be disappointed to drop all points after coming back into the game thanks to the Sushil Kumar header. However, nothing to take away from Churchill Brothers who enjoyed the better possession and it was the brialliance of Odafa which won the game for them.

Serbian coach Zoran has made a winning start to his campaign and it seems that the low morale of the team would be a thing of the past.

Final Score: 2-1

Goalscorers Churchill: Odafa Okolie (61st and 88th)
Goalscorer Mahindra: Sushil Kumar (83rd)

Source:Goal.com