Christopher celebrates his hattrick, at the Salt Lake Stadium, on Friday. A Telegraph picture

Calcutta: Walking into the Salt Lake Stadium on Friday afternoon, I.M. Vijayan couldn’t help but turn nostalgic. This was the venue, which has been witness to many of his magic moments not too long ago.

“Yes memories came flooding once I was here… Lots…” he said with a twinkle in his eye.

The happy hunting ground, however, soon turned sour for the footballer turned coach. Reduced to ten men in the second session, Vijayan’s Southern Samity lost 1-4 to Kalighat MS.

Nigerian Christopher scored a hattrick, while Hausan Pao netted the other goal for the winners. Francis Xavier was Southern Samity’s scorer.

Southern Samity were found wanting, both in defence and midfield. With no snatching and blocking at the centre, it was one way traffic for Kalighat MS forwards.

Christopher proved a handful as he, along with Amol Sardar, time and again exposed chinks in the rival defence. Amol used the flanks intelligently, giving Southern Samity a torrid time inside their own territory.

Kalighat MS, winners of the Independence Cup in Kalimpong earlier this month, showed good co-ordination upfront. They led by a goal in the first half. Southern Samity equalised at the beginning of the second session quite against the run of play. But their hopes were nipped in the bud as Christopher and Co. regained control in no time.

Despite the defeat, Vijayan didn’t lose his cool. “Not much should be read into the defeat… There’s still a long way to go,” he said.