Chirag United have it easy against minnows ONGC

Chirag United rode a credible show from comeback man Junior Elijah to win 4-2 against minnows ONGC in their 12th round I-League match at the Yuba Bharati Krirangan here on Sunday. Somshuvra Laha reports.

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Chirag United rode a credible show from comeback man Junior Elijah to win 4-2 against minnows ONGC in their 12th round I-League match at the Yuba Bharati Krirangan here on Sunday. With the win, Chirag United have now accumulated 18 points.

Elijah, who was unavailable for most of the I-League, along with Lalkamal Bhowmick, created a number of moves for Chirag United who had a winless run of three matches till now. ONGC, who stayed at seven points, failed to impress. Their defence continued to be the weak link and their new coach, Subrata Bhattacharya, admitted 'it was a concern' after shipping four goals.

Chirag United's defence too had their share of scares, but only ONGC striker B Babatunde could breach their defence.

In the end, it boiled down to which team had a better conversion and Elijah's presence tilted the match in Chirag United's favour. It was his measured chip from the top of the box that set up Josimar Martins to score the first goal.

In the second half, and after a few quick one-twos that split open the ONGC defence, Elijah blasted home a neat pass off Gouranga Biswas from the left.

Babatunde - introduced in the 54th minute - was impressive with a snap left footer that arrowed in the far post but a clumsy foul on Chirag United defender Narugopal Hait took some sheen off it. Denson Devadas again increased the margin with a header from a goalmouth melee and later, Bhowmick made it 4-1 in the 82nd minute. Babatunde, sniffing a cagey Chirag United defence, scored another goal off ND Opara's crisp cross but unfortunately for ONGC, the rest failed to put up a collective effort and make an impact.