Ghanian striker Yusif Yakubu scored three goals as Churchill Brothers whipped Indian Telephone Industries 5-1 in their concluding match of the 7th Oil PSU National Football League in Bangalore on Monday.
The victory took the Goa team's points tally to 37 and gave them the fifth place in the league behind JCT, who also had with the same number of points but finished a rung higher because of a better goal difference.
Yakubu, who led the NFL goal-scorers' list last year, scored in the 16th, 20th and 81st minutes, as the Goan side asserted their supremacy and piled on the agony on the telephonemen, who have already been demoted from the 12-team NFL.
The mercurial striker took his goal tally this year to 21 to emerge as the top scorer this time too.
Yakubu first scored off a solo effort and four minutes later made it 2-0 off a deft pass from Benjamin Ansah.
After the break, ITI, who finished their league engagements tallying just eight points, pulled one back as substitute Dipankar Chatterjee found the target after his initial shot popped out from the hands of 'keeper Edward Ansah in the 56th minute.
But Churchill Brothers, who collected three points from this encounter, thus taking their overall points tally to 37, immediately made it 3-1, as substitute Tiken Singh came out with an accurate header off a free-kick taken by Noel Wilson in the very next minute.
Roque Barreto scored in the 78th minute off a Yakubu pass and the latter completed the rout off a solo effort three minutes later.
ITI were expected to put up a better show after holding Mohun Bagan 3-3 in their last encounter at the Salt Lake Stadium in Kolkata but that was not to be.
PTI
