IFA Shield champions Churchill Brothers’ hopes of securing their 4th I-League runners-up crown were buried when they lost 2-3 to 10-man Pune Football Club in their concluding match at Nehru Stadium, Fatorda, Tuesday.
The teams were tied 1-1 at half time. Pune made it clear from the start that they were not going to let Churchill dictate terms, holding their own midfield while remaining solid at the back.
Man-of-the-match Keita Mandjou put Pune into the lead in the 6th minute when hardworking striker Arata Izumi from the deep area floated the ball from the left and Keita chested the ball well, beat his marker Rowilson Rodrigues and blasted home giving no chance to Churchill keeper Vinay Singh.
Churchill regrouped quickly and came close in levelling the score but striker Odafe Okolie’s header hit the crossbar after he was chipped by Steven Dias from the left.
After a minor hick up, Pune took Churchill completely by surprise and almost doubled the lead but Churchill keeper Vinay denied midfielder Lester Fernandes from finding the net.
For the visitors – Lester and former India captain S Venkatesh worked effectively in the midfield to booth both forwards Keita and Arata who kept the rival defence constantly on the run. Churchill were a pale shadow of themselves as they were unable to strike rhythm.
At the strike of the lemon break, Churchill’s efforts finally bore fruit when midfielder Binesh Balan was fouled outside the box by Pune defender Lamine Tamba and referee Pratap Singh without any hesitation awarded the free kick. The resultant free kick taken by Odafe was slotted past to the left of the Pune keeper.
Churchill who were struggling in the first half, exhibited a much better performance as they showed much purpose after resumption. They nearly struck soon but Odafe headed out an open goal off a cross from Steven Dias and later Kayne Vincent missed a kick from an ideal position.
All charged up Churchill made it 2-1 in the 75th minute when Odafe picked up the ball from Lenny Rodrigues and unleashed a snap shot which brushed Pune keeper Balaji Narasimhan’s hands and landed in the net.
Thereafter, Pune’s Keita brought them back with an equaliser in the 85th minute. Following a free kick taken by Lester from the left, Keita leapt high and nodded in keeping the Churchill keeper in a daze. Pune suffered a blow when their defender Othalli Tabia was ejected by referee after he picked up the second yellow.
Pune intensified their attacks and in the 88th minute, Kamljeet Kumar headed home.
With this win, Pune Football Club moved to fifth spot displacing Mohun Bagan with 36 points from 26 matches while Churchill Brothers stay at third spot with 50 points from the same number of encounters. - Sent by DLP
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