Churchill Brothers drowned Mohammedan Sporting (5-1) in a glut of goals in a second round group-B league match of the 34th Federation Cup football here at the Kanchanjungha Stadium on Saturday.
Lebanese striker Akram Moghrabi scored twice while Bineesh Balan, Roberto Mendes Silva, Henri Autchouet contributed one each. Nigerian striker David Sunday produced the consolation goal for Mohammedan Sporting.
Churchill Brothers, which was grounded by a flurry of misses in a goalless affair against Mohun Bagan in the previous round, effectively shook off its goal-shyness and got into the scoring act right from the beginning against Sporting.
Churchill Brothers coach Subhas Bhowmick introduced Moghrabi from the start in preference to Gabonese Henry Antchouet, who had squandered numerous gilt-edged opportunities against Bagan.
Moghrabi found the lead in 13th minute lending his head to guide home an attempt from Bilal Najjaraine. Bineesh Balan made it 2-0 in the 27th with a powerful drive from the top of the box.
Silva, the Brazilian playmaker in the Churchill attack, added to the tally with a smart off-the-ball run and finished with a diving header to compliment a cross from the right flank.
Sunday provided a brief relief to Sporting pulling one back in the 38th minute. Churchill Brothers made it 4-1 two minutes later with Moghrabi scoring his second.
A relaxed Churchill lessened its stress on attack after the break and adopted a defensive approach. Mohammedan Sporting tried to utilise the space but failed to alter the scoreline even as Alfred Jaryan’s header off an Ashim Biswas freekick missed the Churchill goal by a whisker.
And then Autchouet, who replaced Moghrabi in the 75th, completed the scoring in the 88th.
The results: Group B: Churchill Brothers 5 (Akram Moghrabi 13, 40, Bineesh Balan 27, Roberto Mendes Silva 33, Henri Autchouet 88) bt Mohammedan Sporting 1 (David Sunday 38).
