The remaining last spot in the Group Stages of the Super Cup was snatched away in style by Goa giants Churchill Brothers as they earned a dominant 6-0 victory over Real Kashmir at the Payyanad Stadium here on Thursday.
Liberian striker Ansumana Kromah was the star performer with four goals against his name. After their engaging in highly spirited rivalry in the I-League only a few months ago, Thursday’s knock-out encounter was a complete contradiction, as Churchill Bothers enjoyed total control over the proceedings. The competitive edge of the match was completely wiped off in the first half when the winners raced to a 3-0 lead before the referee blew for a breather. The scenario hardly changed in the second half, either, as the men from Srinagar could hardly put up a fightback to end their miseries.
With Real Kashmir not displaying enough attacking flair, Churchill took the lead in the 6th minute of the match off a penalty kick. Real Kashmir goalkeeper Imran Arshad committed the blunder of bringing down Churchill midfielder Anil Rama Gaonkar inside the box and paid the penalty for it.
Uruguayan striker Martin Nicolas Chavez scored from the spot with consummate ease as he placed the ball to the corner of the net with a deft strike.
Any hope of Real Kashmir making a turnaround after conceding an early goal started to end as Churchill continued to attack relentlessly. Churchill’s goalkeeper Nora Fernandes barely had to touch the ball, his counterpart remained a busy man under the Real Kashmir bar.
The losers certainly didn’t learn from their mistakes and conceded yet another penalty kick in the 35th minute. This time the culprit was their skipper Jestin George, who used unfair means to bring down Kingslee Fernandes inside the Srinagar team box.