I-League: Plaza stars as Churchill beat Neroca 4-1

Panaji : The I-League encounter between Churchill Brothers FC Goa and Neroca FC on Sunday ended in a 4-1 win for the home team. Willis Plaza lived up to his reputation with a goal and two assists on the night as the Red Machines came through with flying colours with an attacking masterclass.

Churchill Brothers now have 13 points from eight games and are placed fifth on the points table.

It was a day of comebacks for both the teams, as the home team saw the return of star striker Plaza, who wasn't part of the loss that the Red Machines suffered against Gokulam Kerala FC away from home.

Neroca FC, on the other hand, saw the return of Singam Subhash Singh, who made a move in the January transfer window from Real Kashmir FC. The first half started with high-intensity action as the home team drew first blood from a corner in the 5th minute.

The corner found an unmarked Ponif Vaz in front of the goal and he smashed it home to give his team an early lead.

It was very hard to choose between both the teams as they were going toe-to-toe with little to separate them in terms of possession.

Neroca's efforts finally paid off to get an equaliser when the ball fell to forward Philip Tettey, who dribbled past one defender and then James Kithan in the Churchill goal to score a praiseworthy goal with 26 minutes on the clock.