Churchill Brothers were not their usual self but effective nevertheless. The I-League champions got off to a winning start in the 31st Federation Cup here easily enough against qualifiers HAL, Bangalore.
In their last meeting a year ago, in the group stage of the same tournament, Churchill thrashed the Bangalore outfit 7-0 in Kolkata.
For a change, it was not Okolie Odafa but Khan Thang Paite who drew the first blood on Monday. The midfielder's well-directed header put Churchill Brothers in lead though HAL had got off to a brisker start.
Charan Rai's corner-kick found Gourmangi Singh, who, from a fairly difficult angle, flicked it for Paite to head the ball home.
HAL weren't far behind in terms of possession in the first half. But things changed dramatically after the breather at the Satindra Mohan Dev Memorial Stadium. It was a case of HAL losing the plot rather than Churchill Brothers having raised their game a few notches.
After a subdued first half, Odafa got into the groove much to the delight of the 5000-odd spectators. He scored off a free-kick, the shot kissing the upright on its way. Paite completed the formality when his well-directed shot found the target after a deflection from HAL's Ricky Joy.
{{/usCountry}}After a subdued first half, Odafa got into the groove much to the delight of the 5000-odd spectators. He scored off a free-kick, the shot kissing the upright on its way. Paite completed the formality when his well-directed shot found the target after a deflection from HAL's Ricky Joy.
{{/usCountry}}HAL had their share of chances but paid for poor finishing. Fredrick Okawbe could have neutralised Paite's first-half strike but the Nigerian, after sprinting ahead of Gourmangi Singh and with just goalkeeper Arindam Bhattacharya to beat, shot wide.