Mahilpur (Punjab), Jan 17 (PTI) Churchill Brothers held off Delhi FC's second half onslaught to eke out a significant 2-1 victory in their I-League match here on Friday.

Wayde Lekay (17th minute) and Trijoy Dias (36th) scored for Churchill Brothers, while Hridaya Jain (60th) struck a consolation goal for Delhi FC.

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Churchill took an early lead, before fading and desperately hanging on to take the win which extended their lead at the top of the table.

Delhi stay rooted to the bottom half of the table, but will take heart from an improved second-half showing against the leaders of the league.

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The hosts did not let the points gap between the sides deter them from asserting control in the early stages of the game and they even conjured up the first half chance of the game, when Harmanjot Khabra curled a corner just past the far post in the fifth minute.

After a cagey start to the year, Churchill seemed to have rediscovered their winning mojo going into this game, and yet it was a matter of luck and inches that kept them from going down early.

Having dribbled past two players, Sanson Pereira dropped a shoulder, shrugged away from a third and let fly at goal from the edge of the box. The ball curled agonisingly wide.

Within 30 seconds, Churchill made Delhi pay for the miss. Played into the right side of the box, Lekay was looking at what could best be described as a half chance, the angle too tight and the defender too close for anything spectacular to be pulled off.

Lekay casually curled his foot around the pass and directed it towards the far post, just out of Abhishek Calvin's reach and into the bottom corner. It was a wonderful finish, crafted from almost nothing, a perfect display of the South African striker's innate ability to score when he wants.

Delhi looked broken, and the game was not even a quarter of the way through.

Churchill went on the rampage and Lekay was suddenly at the heart of it all. In the 36th minute, he shrugged off a defender's challenge, drove into the box and cut the ball towards the centre, into the six yard area.

A sliding Trijoy Dias applied the finish to it. Two goals to the good, Churchill cruised to the break. Delhi needed it, if only to regroup and find their way back.

It proved to be useful, not only to recalibrate minds, but also the players on the pitch. Delhi introduced youngster Hridaya Jain into the mix.

Right on the hour mark, the substitution proved inspired. A half cleared chance looped its way to him at the edge of the box. He adjusted his feet and let fly with the left, the volley shaping its way perfectly into the far right corner to draw Delhi to within one.

Delhi looked pumped and Churchill vulnerable. Jain continued to be a threat and in the 76th minute, curling a free kick narrowly wide of the right post from a central position outside the box.

Delhi continued to press for an equaliser, and in their desperation often faltered with quality in the final third.

Churchill meanwhile faded as the time ticked by and yet hung on to take a valuable win, that extended their lead to five points at the top of the table, with Namdhari and Inter Kashi still to play later in the round.

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