Thaindian News

Kolkata/Margao/Bangalore/Pune, Oct 22 (IANS) Super Cup champions East Bengal and title holders Salgaocar Sports Club disappointed their fans as they went down by identical 0-1 margin on the opening day of the fifth I-League soccer tournament Saturday.

Riding on a 13th minute strike by N.D. Opara, Churchill Brothers logged full points against East Bengal at the Salt Lake Stadium in Kolkata.

The Goans dominated early proceedings and even after Opara had put it past rival goalkeeper Gurpreet Singh for an early lead, the pair of Opara and Gabon international Henry Arnaud tested the East Bengal defence posing continuous threats.

East Bengal took time to settle down and once they did, striker Tolgay Ozbey headed the ball into the net off a corner only to be disallowed by the linesman.

However, East Bengal came with more purpose in the second half and Tolgay struck the crossbar with an effort from inside the box in the 57th minute.

Churchill did survive some anxious moments in the dying minutes. Churchill’s Antun Kovacic was adjudged the Man-of-the-Match.

In Margao, Dempo SC defeated Salgaocar 1-0 at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium. Ranti Martins, the winner of the Golden Boot in the last edition made the difference between the two teams in the 80th minute, by tapping the ball past rival goalkeeper Karanjit Singh in a one-to-one situation.

Chirag Kerala got past Hindustan Aeronautics Limited 1-0 at Bangalore. C.K. Vineet, capitalising on a defensive lapse, scored the winner in the 13th minute.

At the Balewadi Sports Complex in Pune, Lajong Football Club, Shillong, celebrated their return to the I-League holding hosts Pune FC to a goalless draw.