Salgaocar register thumping victory over Churchill Brothers

Stephen Satarkar scored a hat-trick after coming off the bench.

Hat-trick hero Stephen Satarkar came off the bench to help Salgaocar demolish Churchill Brothers Sports Club by a huge 5-0 margin in the Selvel Goa Professional League match played at Duler Stadium on Tuesday.

After a goalless first 45 minutes, the Greens took the lead through substitute Stephen in the 63rd minutes, while he scored another two goals in the 76th & 79th minute to complete his hat-trick. Steflon D’costa and another substitute Fhezer Gomes also found the net in the late second half to secure a win.  

Salgaocar, who had secured a narrow win over FC Goa in their previous match, had only one change to their side as defender Flagan Rodrigues made way for Saurabh Patil in the starting XI. On the other hand, Churchill coach Norberto Gonsalves changed almost half of their starting XI from the last match following a 2-0 defeat at the hands of Vasco SC as two U-20 players – Jobern Cardozo and Preston Fernandes along with keeper Shiv Nandan Yadav, defender Godfrey Mascarenhas and midfielder Josley Dias made the cut.

The clash between Salgaocar and Churchill Brothers, which used to be one of the electrifying matches started with a midfield play and ended goalless at the half-time. The dull 45 minutes witnessed just two attacks from the Greens as their forward Steflon D’Costa was fed with a low cross by Velentinho Nazareth in the box, but the striker failed to keep his shot on target. Steflon was in action again in the 43rd minute when he dribbled past a defender in the box and went for the glory, but his strike was parried away for a corner by Churchill keeper Shiv.

The Red Machines also had a chance to surge ahead in the added minutes when left-back Sumer Sehgal made a darting run after receiving a pass from his teammate Jobern Cardozo, but his strike missed the target by a whisker from close.

Salgaocar forward Steflon and substitute Stephen Satarkar should have taken his side into the lead in the very first minute after the restart as both were in commanding positions to score. However, neither of them could make the most of the opportunity. On the other hand, their teammate Selwyn Miranda got on the loose ball and found the side netting from inside the six-yard box.

The Greens once again came close to take the lead in the 50th minute when Stephen found himself in the box with the ball at his feet, the latter tried to curl the ball in the top corner, but his shot went just over the crossbar.

They had another opportunity to surge ahead in the 62nd minute as this time Selwyn tried his luck from the top of the box only to see it miss by hairline distance. However, Salgaocar managed to find the net in the very next minute as Selwyn made a swift run on the wing and made a low cross to Stephen in the box who brilliantly dribbled past two Churchill Brothers defenders and slotted the ball home to make it 1-0.

At the other end, Churchill Brothers forward Ginminthang Hangsing tried his luck just after entering the opposition’s box, but his goalbound strike hit Salgaocar defender and went for a corner.

The Mormugao-based side further extended their lead in the 76th minute as Stephen made a perfect through pass to Steflon who covered some ground to enter the box, but failed to convert from close. However, Stephen made no mistake from inside the box to send the loose ball in the net making it 2-0.

Pumped-up by two quick goals, the Greens scored three more goals in the next 15 minutes as first, Stephen completed his hat-trick when he danced past two defenders to enter the box and clinically finished the ball home. Steflon also registered his name in the goalscorer list in the 84th minute as Stephen made a low cross to the forward from his first touch where Steflon dribbled past a defender before slotting the ball in the back of the nylons.

With just three minutes remaining to the full-time whistle, Salgaocar coach Levino Pereira brought in Fhezer Gomes to replace Steflon upfront and the substitute forward proved his calibre with his first touch as he cut past a defender in the box shot past Churchill keeper Shiv from close range to make it 5-0.