Okolie Odafa's brilliance helped Churchill Brothers defeat Mohammedan Sporting 1-0 in a 10th round encounter of the ONGC I-League at Yuba Bharati Krirangan in Kolkata on Sunday.
The win for Churchill Brothers, which came after four matches, is a welcome respite for the Goan side who now have 17 points.
Mohammedan Sporting, who had their chances and impressed only in patches, remained in the relegation zone with nine points.
It was the home side who started proceedings on a bright note but with striking duo of Mike Okoro and a knee-strapped Theodore Wrobeh looking out of sorts, it was misses galore for Mohammedan Sporting.
Churchill Brothers picked the tempo after the change of ends and as the misses from the home team continued, the Goan side settled the issue in the 69th minute.
The winner came four minutes after Wrobeh failed to direct his effort on target.
Churchill Brothers' right-sided midfielder Bineesh Balan's shot came off the woodwork and Odafa was quick to latch on to the rebound and notch up his 11th goal in 10 matches.
In the dying minutes, Vimal Pariyar, who replaced Wrobeh in the 79th minute, came close to finding the equaliser but Mohammedan Sporting players seemed to have left their scoring boots behind.