Cristhian Lagos struck twice as Churchill Brothers defeated New Radiant of Maldives 3-0 to secure its first victory in the AFC Cup football here on Tuesday.
Lagos scored in the 31st and 75th minutes while Anthony Wolfe netted the other goal in the 52nd in the Group E league match at Nehru stadium at Fatorda.
With this win, Churchill, which lost to Persipura Jayapura of Indonesia in its their opening encounter, opened its account and now has three points from two matches while New Radiant, which defeated Home United of Singapore, remained on three from two outings.
Bright start Churchill started brightly by moving the ball on the flanks well with Costa Rica striker Lagos and Trinidad and Tobago’s Wolfe combining well upfront. The pair caused all sorts of trouble for the rival defenders, creating half a dozen chances in the first half. However, Wolfe missed two close chances with only the goalkeeper to beat.
Lagos got an early chance to score off a Raju Yumnam cross, but his header went over the bar.
He, however, put his team 1-0 up in the 31st minute when a move on the right saw Satish Singh sending a low cross into the box to Wolfe.
He then passed it on to Lagos, who uncorked a firm grounder to find the back of the net.
The host continued to dictate terms in the second half and Wolfe made amends by scoring in the 52nd minute off a throw-in from the right.
Lagos put the match beyond the reach of the visitor with his second goal in the 75th minute.
The result:
Churchill Brothers 3 (Cristhian Lagos 31 & 75, Anthony Wolfe 52) bt New Radiant of Maldives 0.
