Bhubaneswar: A first half strike from unfit Willis Plaza made all the difference as Churchill Brothers scrapped past a spirited Indian Arrows 1-0 in an I-League encounter here at the Kalinga Stadium practice ground, Sunday. With this goal Plaza takes his league tally to nine.
However, questions were raised from all corners as they game was played in the practice pitch instead of the main stadium which was in good condition – a step-motherly treatment on the part of I-League after the ongoing telecast row where AIFF decided to cut down the television coverage to just 31 games of the remaining 61 in the season.
Coming into the match, it wasn’t fully-fit Churchill side, which were on the pitch as half a dozen players were down due to injuries and card problems. Coming from two defeats the Goan side started the game on a cautious note playing passing football while the young Arrows showed attacking intent rightly from the start.
The first real chance of the game came in the very first minute when Rahim Ali of Arrows beautifully passed the ball to the left to Vikram Pratap Singh but the midfielder failed to hold the ball. Two minutes later Plaza missed another chance when his left footer sailed over the bar.
Thereafter the Floyd Pinto-led Arrows tried to assert their hold on the match with more ball possession but couldn’t make the most of it as all their shots were either off target or sailed over the bar with Boris Singh and Ali being the culprits.
However, the Arrows were undone by a defensive lapse in the 40th minute as Churchill pounced on the opportunity to score the only goal of the match. Trying to clear an on-rushing ball Arrows defender Jitendra Singh made a mess, the ball fell in front of Plaza who made no mistake in putting it past goalie Prabhuskaran Gill with a powerful left-footer.
Arrows did try to put some pressure towards the end of the second half, but failed to break the Churchill wall who went all out in defence.