I-League : NEROCA suffer 1-3 loss to Churchill Brothers

By Our Staff Reporter
IMPHAL, May 9 : NEROCA went down by 1-3 goals to Churchill Brothers in a Phase-II encounter at Kalyani Municipal Stadium.
The Manipur outfit who lost 0-4 in the hands of the runaway leaders Gokulam Kerala FC in the previous tie, started positively and created a series of chances forcing  Churchill Brothers to rely mostly on counter attack.
Churchill Brothers however grew stronger gradually and Momo Cisse earned the lead off a beautiful free-kick in the 36th minute.
The goal boosted Churchill Brothers spirit and it was in the 40th minute that Kenneth Ikechukwu doubled the advantage, tapping home a rebound from close range as his compatriot Richard saw his effort cleared off the line.
After the breather also, NEROCA FC kept troubling Goa side's backline with a flurry of attacks but their efforts did not materialise. To much disappointment, Kenneth Ikechukwu capitalised on a chance and beat NEROCA custodian one more time in the 76th minute to hand his team an unassailable 3-0 lead.
Unlucky NEROCA however grabbed a consolation goal at the stroke of the 90 minute mark thanks to Vicky Meitei's attempt from outside the box.