Osotspa give Churchill
a thrashing
India's National Football League runners-up Churchill Brothers got a thrashing in their 'away' AFC Champions League match against Osotspa at the Debhasdin stadium in Bangkok. They were beaten 6-3 on Tuesday.
Osotspa became the second Thai club, joining BEC Tero Sasana -- one of the eight seeds, to make the 16-team Group Stage.
Following a 1-1 draw in the first leg in Goa, the tie appeared delicately balanced at half-time with Osotspa 2-1 ahead, thanks to two goals by Vimon Junkham which sandwiched a brilliant long-range strike from Churchill captain Noel Wilson.
However, the home side turned on the heat in the second period as the visitors visibly faded.
After Vimon completed his hat-trick six minutes into the second-half, another brilliant solo effort by Wilson brought Churchill back into contention, but two goals by Phaitoon Thabma and a fourth from Vimon put the match beyond doubt, with an own goal by Tanasit Tong-in completing the scoring.
In Group B, Osotspa will face powerhouses Dalian Shide, who won their third successive Chinese league title, and Seongnam Ilhwa Chunma, who recently sealed their second successive K-League title.
Shimizu S-Pulse are expected to complete the four-team group. Japan's Emperor's Cup champions beat South China 5-0 in their first-leg encounter in Hong Kong, and play the return leg at the Nihondaira stadium on Wednesday.
In another match on Tuesday, Taejon Citizen beat Mohun Bagan 2-1 for an 8-1 aggregate victory over the three-time Indian National Football League (NFL) champions.
Taejon, the 2001 Korea FA Cup winners, recently finished at the bottom of the K-League for the second year running but still proved too good for the Indian side, whose hopes were all but ended in the 6-0 loss at the Daejeon World Cup stadium two weeks ago.
Taejon now look forward to playing in Group A, where BEC Tero Sasana and Japan's Kashima Antlers are the seeded sides.
Shanghai Shenhua and Geylang United are fighting for the final place in the group, with the Chinese side 3-0 up going into Wednesday's return leg in Singapore.
