Sudeva Delhi FC suffered their sixth straight defeat of the season when they went down to Churchill Brothers FC 0-2 in the I-League 2022-23 tie at the Chhatrasal Stadium in New Delhi on Saturday.
Two second-half goals by Abdoulaye Sane and Lamgoulen Hangshing helped Churchill win two matches in a row to take their points tally to eight from seven outings. Sudeva Delhi FC, on the other hand, are yet to pick up their first point after playing six matches.
Senegalese recruit Abdoulaye Sane played a crucial role in his team's attacks as the visitors dominated the initial proceedings. In the sixth minute, off a corner kick, Sane received the ball near the penalty spot but Nishchal Chandan blocked his shot and in the meantime, Sudeva goalkeeper Kabir Kohli managed to gather the ball.
In the face of mounting pressure from Churchill Brothers, the home side could hardly build up their attacks and remained busy defending their citadel. Midway through the half, Sane got a golden opportunity to put visitors in the lead. He received the ball in the penalty area as he beat the Sudeva defender Chandan deftly. However, Kongbrailatpam Manjit Sharma came to the rescue of his team and made a crucial block to deny Churchill a certain goal.
Churchill Brothers almost scored in the 34th minute. Tana received a cross from the right wing and the Spaniard set the ball for Lalawmpuia Sailo, who took a curling shot with his left foot but goalkeeper Kohli made an acrobatic save.
Sudeva Delhi started the second period on a positive note. Two minutes into the half, Basit Ahmed Bhat found Seilenthang Lotjem on the left wing. Lotjem dashed into the box to send a cross in front of the goalmouth. However, it went abegging as none of the Sudeva players were present in the area.
The Red Machines regained control of the match and after a series of missed chances, their Senegalese striker Abdoulaye Sane found the target in the 54th minute. Churchill captain Momo Cisse found Sailo in the box, who, in turn, laid the ball for Sane and the striker made no mistake in slotting it into the bottom corner.
For the majority part of the game, Churchill Brothers played with a network of quick passes between the forwards with Tana being the focal point of all their attacks. In the 76th minute, Tana found Lamgoulen Hangshing at the edge of the penalty area, who ran into the box to double the lead with a low shot into the far post.
Soon after the goal was scored, Sudeva substitute Akbar Khan went close to pulling one back following a cross from Francis Nwankwo. In the final minutes, Nigerian Felix Chidi Odili saw his effort inside the box go just past the post. It was a little too late for the hosts to launch a comeback as the visitors left the Chhatrasal Stadium with three points.
( With inputs from ANI )
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