Kolkata: Gokulam Kerala came back from behind to beat Roundglass Punjab FC 4-3 in an I-League thriller at the Salt Lake Stadium on Thursday. Punjab, against the run of play, opened the scoring through Chencho Gyeltshen who slotted it home on the volley after taking a wonderful first touch in the box.
He extended the lead soon after as they caught the home side off-guard creating a move on the counter with Sanju Pradhan squaring it off for Chencho who completed his brace. Kerala got one back within minutes as Philip Adjah drilled it hard taking chance of a defensive lapse before Rupert Nongrum made it 3-1 for Punjab just before the half-time whistle.
But Gokulam made a stunning comeback through Denny Antwi who netted a brace to equal the two-goal deficit before the winner came for them as a result of an own-goal by Punjab defender Anwar Ali.
The second match of the day saw Sudeva FC crushing Indian Arrows 3-0 at the Kalyani stadium. Kean Lewis broke the deadlock for Sudeva with a composed finish before youngster Naorem Mahesh Singh pounced on a defensive howler by Arrows to extend the lead. Sudeva dominated throughout the game giving Arrows very little chance to get settled into the match.
Shaiborlang Kharpan hammered the final nail in the coffin as headed through the crowd from a corner ensuring full three points for his side. The third game in the evening was a rather dull one as Mohammedan Sporting played a goalless stalemate against Churchill Brothers at the Kalyani Stadium.
The best chance in the game actually came for Churchill as Luka Majcen went one-on-one with the keeper but failed to keep his composure. Churchill in the second half looked good, especially on the counters. However, their forwards let them down on a few occasions. Both the sides shared the points with Mohammedan standing at second place with Churchill leading the points table.
