Sunday's Saturday

Formidable F C Kochin dished out fast and attacking soccer to edge past Salgaocar Sports Club, Goa, 2-1, to earn full points from their National Football League match, in Kochi, on Saturday.

Liberian striker-goalkeeper Sunday Seah, who returned to the side after his two match suspension for a red card, earned in the match against ITI, Bangalore, changed the fortunes of his side by scoring both the goals.

Earlier in the league, he had switched from goalkeeper to striker to score twice in his team's victory over State Bank of Travancore. He also scored a goal in his team's 'away' match against Salgaocar and Tollygunge.

And Saturday was his day again.

Sunday, who normally plays as goalkeeper, put his team in the lead in the very second minute of the match with a diving header that had no answer from Salgaocar custodian Juje Siddi.

He then consolidated his team's position with a penalty conversion in the 44th minute. The penalty was awarded as Franky Barretto handled the ball inside the area and the referee had no hesitation in pointing to the dreaded spot.

Saturday's goals took his tally in the league to six.

The Goans went all out midway through the second session. Ghanaian Tijani Ahmed beat an alert custodian Dinesh Nair with a powerful shot that rocketted into the net, giving no chance for the Kochin defenders to intercept, to reduce the margin.

The local outfit dominated the proceedings and the ball stayed with them most of the time. They could have won the match with a good margin, but their strikers fumbled at crucial junctures.