JOIN USChurchill Brothers SC wriggled themselves out of the relegation zone with a 1-0 victory against Ranjdajied United FC in the I-League, here on Tuesday.
Anthony Wolfe hammered the rebound of his own penalty to punish the visitors in the second session after there appeared nothing to separate the two bottom-placed teams.
Wolfe’s 56th minute strike helped Churchill stretch their lead to 13 points, one more than Rangdajied and same as Mohammedan Sporting. Churchill, however, will displace Mohammedan from the 12th position due to their superior head-to-head record.
Fresh from their triumph in the Federation Cup, Churchill had two new foreign players in Costa Rican striker Cristian Lagos and Trinidad & Tobnago World Cupper Anthony Wolfe.
Rangdajied on the other hand fielded all of their four strikers for the first time, while Steven Dias, Sushant Mathew and goalkeeper TP Reheneesh, all new signings, were handed debuts.
The changes did not reflect in improved performances on the field as both teams adopted a cautious approach. Rangdajied, though, did not have too many attempts on goal in the first session with Dias’s half-hearted attempt and Yohei Iwasaki’s freekick missing the target narrowly.
Churchill struck early in the second session when Lagos won a penalty. In the 51st minute, a cross from the right saw Lagos trap the ball neatly but goalkeeper Reheneesh’s acrobatic attempt was deemed too dangerous.
The penalty, taken by Wolfe, was saved by the goalkeeper but Rehaneesh could do nothing with the rebound as Wolfe netted home comfortably.