Junior Elijah struck a fine brace as Sporting Clube de Goa moved away from the relegation zone of the I-League with a 3-0 win over Viva Kerala at the Nehru stadium here on Tuesday.

The Nigerian striker scored twice for the first time in the I-League after Harmanjot Khabra had put the home side ahead with an opportunistic finish.

Relegation-threatened Sporting, with 16 points, are now placed sixth and can breathe easy — for the moment.

Viva Kerala (12 points), however, face an anxious wait in the remainder of the four matches.

Just four minutes into the match, Junior Elijah did well to round off Viva defender Tabia Othollo, but ended shooting straight into the legs of goalkeeper T Purushothaman.

Micky Fernandes made a mess of the rebound from close range.

Sporting moved up almost immediately as Harmanjot Khabra managed to back-flick a Rajesh Meetei corner past a bemused Viva defence. At the half-hour mark, Junior Elijah struck his first goal and Sporting’s second.

Wilton Gomes broke free on the left and sent a high cross into the penalty area, which Elijah managed to control with grace, side-step his marker and send a low shot past a diving Purushothaman.

Elijah effectively killed the match as a contest in the 70th minute when he got in between two markers to slide a Lawrence Adjei corner into the net.