The chance of Federation Cup champions, East Bengal of making it to the top of the I-League table suffered a major setback when they went down 1-2 to IFA Shield winners Churchill Brothers at Nehru Stadium, Fatorda, Sunday. Churchill led 1-0 at half time.
Once Churchill Brothers found the rhythm, they called the shots against the Kolkata side. Churchill midfielders were the chief architects of their victory. They once again produced a solid display and asserted their dominance in the midfield.
Surprisingly, in a match that East Bengal needed to win at all costs to hunt for the title, their players performance left much to be desired.
Churchill rose to the occasion and floored the visitors with a terrific effort, after missing two easy chances in the first 30th minute.
The home side took the lead in the 34th minute through Odafe. Following a fine cross from the left by Steven Dias saw Bengal stopper Gurwinder Singh’s header go towards the path of midfielder Binesh Balan, who without wasting time unleashed a snap shot which again deflected off Gurwinder and it was Odafe, who received the deflection with a turn, stopped and put the ball past Jayanta Pal under the bar.
Earlier, Churchill midfielder Zakeer Mundampara unleashed a right footer which hit the crossbar. Thereafter it was Odafe’s turn whose shot was blocked by Bengal’s keeper.
Churchill nearly doubled the lead soon after resumption when Odafe produced a solo run in the rival box and outwitted a couple of defenders but he shot wide from hand-shaking distance.
The closest Bengal came in reducing the margin was when off-colour Australian striker Tolgay Ozbey fed Syed Rahim Nabi inside the box and the last named’s feeble push went into the arms of man-of-the-match Churchill keeper Vinay Singh.
After efforts from Kayne failed to fructify, Churchill scored the insurance goal in the 62nd minute through a penalty.
Defender Naoba Singh committed a blunder tripping midfielder Binesh Balan inside the box and Manipur referee Magho Singh showed the dreaded spot. From the resultant penalty, Odafe slotted home to the right of keeper Jayanta Pal.
In between, Bengal were unlucky to watch striker Baljit Saini’s rasping shot hit the post.
The visitors managed to score their consolation goal in the 85th minute when substitute Ravinder Singh from the left floated the ball to Naoba who in turn relayed it to striker Baljit Shaniand who beat Vinay Singh with a snap shot.
The win provided welcome relief for Churchill as they inched to 50 points from 25 matches while Bengal have 47 points in their kitty from 24 matches.
“I am happy that the boys played like true champions. Our strategy was to play attacking football and it’s nice to see the players respond. Defeating Bengal is tough and picking up three points is great,” stated Churchill Brothers coach Dragic Mamic.
East Bengal’s coach Trevor James Morgan gave full credit to the opponents. “They played well while we played badly. I am not pleased with my team’s performance and now it is difficult to bounce back for the title,” concluded Morgan.
In another match, Mohun Bagan blanked JCT 2-0. Satish Kumar scored the first goal for Bagan in the 60th minute while Ashim Biswas doubled the lead in the 69th minute. Bagan, by virtue of this win move to 34 points from 25 matches while JCT languish in the relegation zone with 24 points from 25 matches. - Sports Reporter DLP
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