Sreenidi Deccan had to dig deep to earn full points with a 3-1 win against wooden-spooners Sudeva Delhi FC in the I-League on Sunday.
Carlos Vaz Pinto’s men thus opened up a three-point gap at the top of the table with 40 points from 18 matches, but were trailing 0-1 for 70 minutes.
In the end, Sreenidi’s bench strength shone through. Louis Ogana came in to replace fellow Nigerian Rilwan Hassan in the 64th minute and finished as the Hero of the Match. His first goal in the 81st minute gave the hosts the lead and the second, in the 89th, sealed the match for them.
It was heartbreaking for the men from Delhi because they were the better team in the opening half. The best goal was also scored by their electrifying young forward Lalbiakliana.
The diminutive forward cut in from the right, went past Faysal Shayesteh and foxed the towering Ghanaian defender Awal Mohammed to find space to shoot. He was still surrounded by four Sreenidi players when he unleashed the booming left-footer. Custodian CK Ubaid was at full stretch but could not stop the scorcher that stunned everyone.
Gokulam Kerala moved back to third position with a hard-fought 1-0 victory against Churchill Brothers at the Tilak Maidan in Vasco.
The Malabarians rode on Farshad Noor’s first-half goal before displaying some resilient defending after the break to pick up their second consecutive win on the road.
The game began at an even pace and it was Churchill Brothers who had the edge in terms of ball possession. However, the visitors looked sharper going forward.
In the ninth minute, a weak clearance by the Churchill defence fell for Sergio Mendigutxia on the edge of the penalty area. The Spanish striker struck the ball sweetly but was denied by Albino Gomes.
However, the Churchill custodian was beaten 12 minutes later. A mispass by Kingslee Fernandes allowed Gokulam to win possession in the attacking third.
PN Noufal fed the ball to Farshad Noor, who had made a run into the 18-yard area. The Afghan pulled the trigger just in time to avoid Ponif Vaz’s sliding challenge and nestled the ball into the back of the net.
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