Margao: Konsam Sanathoi Singh took off his jersey, turned it around to show the number, and looked straight at the team’s photographer, who was obviously delighted with what he was seeing and recording.The Punjab FC winger had just scored the decisive goal in his team’s 3-2 victory against Churchill Brothers at the Nehru Stadium in Fatorda on Sunday. Sanathoi was promptly booked for the wild celebration but he wouldn’t mind. The dramatic match winner, after all, came in the fifth minute of added on time, with just 20 seconds left to be played.When the match ended less than a minute later, referee R Venkatesh was surrounded by angry Churchill players, all complaining that Messi Bouli had handled the ball before passing it to Sanathoi inside the box for the last-minute winner. At least one player was booked and another official shown the red card.The fans booed and jeered the match officials in unison.It was a difficult loss to digest for Churchill. Twice, the home team fought back to equalise through Sebastian Gutierrez (’37, ‘45+2) as the Colombian forward cancelled out Messi Bouli’s 13th-minute penalty and Alfred Planas’ strike in the 40th minute. Then, Sanathoi scored the goal that mattered in only his second ISL appearance.When the stoppage time board went up, Churchill should have known that their opponents are capable of turning the match on its head. Against Odisha, Messi Bouli had struck a dramatic 96th-minute winner, while Gurkirat Singh rose high to power home a 90th-minute header for the equaliser against Mumbai.“Scoring in the dying minutes shows that we are a team with strength and power,” Punjab coach Pavlos Dermitzakis had said on the eve of the away clash.True to form, Punjab made the brighter start with Messi Bouli and Planas creating difficulties at the opposite end, where Churchill coach Dimitris Dimitriou opted to start with new Nigerian signing Joseph Okoro, a defensive midfielder, at the back.Punjab surged ahead from the penalty spot after Gaurav Bora was adjudged to have brought down Bouli. The striker received a short pass from Muhammad Uvais, beat Anil Gaonkar inside the box, and was then fouled. The Cameroonian forward stepped up and calmly slotted the spot-kick past goalkeeper Sayad Bin Abdul Kadir to score his third goal of the season.Planas then went close twice. His headed flick from inside the box was too soft, while another attempt landed straight into the hands of the keeper.Churchill responded with greater attacking intent and put pressure on their opponents. Punjab defender Nikhil Prabhu scuffed two clearances inside the penalty box but Wayde Lekay could not capitalise.Another clearance that accidentally hit Trijoy Dias’ head sailed inches over the bar.Churchill drew level when Vincy Barretto put his speed to good use, controlled a through ball from Anil Gaonkar and sent it across the goal where Sebastian did well to flick the ball past goalkeeper Arshdeep Singh at the near post.Three minutes later, Punjab regained their lead. This time, the Churchill defence was caught ball-watching. Messi Bouli’s shot from the edge of the box deflected off Okoro and fell behind the defenders, where Planas was quickest to react and pounce on the opportunity.Churchill fought back in the second minute of stoppage time. Vincy picked up Lekay who beat the offside trap and tested Arshdeep. The Punjab goalkeeper managed to parry the ball away, only till the feet of Sebastian, who tapped the ball into an empty net to score his second of the match.In the second half, Uvais thwarted Wayde inside the box and Melroy Assisi threw himself to stop Messi Bouli. The teams tried but nothing seemed to work, until the final minute when Sanathoi controlled a pass with his left foot and finished with his right.
