High-Flying Churchill Impose A Threat To Aizawl

GOA: Churchill Brothers surprised everyone by beating Minerva Punjab FC who were looking invincible until that point in the season have another big task to cut out as they’re now going to face defending champions Aizawl FC at the Tilak Maidan in Goa tomorrow.

The Paulo Menezes-coached side who are coming from a stalemate against Chennai City FC would be wary of the Red Machines who are looking to be the team to beat at the moment.

Aizawl have reasons to be worried as they are winless in their last five matches – counting the AFC Champions League game against Zob Ahan.

The not-so-decent run of results has seen them slump to a lowly sixth on 16 points and Churchill Brothers are only three points behind the defending champions.

Churchill Brothers are growing in confidence with each passing game and they have targeted a top half finish for the season. After the addition of players like Koffi Mechac, Kalu Ogba, Eldor Hussein and others, the Red Machines look like a different animal.

“It is my belief that if we had this whole set of foreigners from the beginning, we could have been in the top two and even heading the league table with some distance. In the initial stages of the season, we lost five matches which is 15 points. So you see the recovery we had to make from the five defeats,” Churchill Brothers coach Alfred Fernandes suggested.

Even Aizawl coach Paulo Meneses agreed that this Churchill Brothers team is not the same as the side they had beaten in the reverse fixture.

“You cannot compare this Churchill Brothers to the one that played in Aizawl with us. They have improved a lot. It will be a very tough game. We are ready to play against them but we know it will be difficult. They are a very competitive team and they are improving. It is not the same Churchill Brothers,” Menezes said.

But Alfred Fernandes is prepared to face a backlash from Aizawl after their poor run of form.

“That (backlash) is always expected, especially Aizawl being the defending champions. Being in mid-table, they will come out hard against us. Playing out a draw against bottom-placed Chennai City FC must have hurt them a lot. We have to be prepared,” Alfred Fernandes said.

Menezes feels that the points table don’t justify their performances.

“The chances that we create in every game, it was enough to be with much more points. Our problem is to score. Hopefully, we have a better chance,” he said.

But the Portuguese coach feels that taking one game at a time is the best way forward right now.

“It’s a chance, it is a game. Even if you play against East Bengal, you just get three points. Not 15 or 16 points. If you play against Churchill Brothers, you get only three points and not more. Or maybe less like one point or zero points. It is not the best chance to take three points, it is just a chance,” Meneses stated.


source: aiff

Neroca Poised To Pip Kerala To Grab The Pole

IMPHAL: NEROCA FC will have the golden opportunity to leapfrog current table toppers Minerva Punjab FC to reach the summit of the 2017-18 Hero I-League standings when they host Gokulam Kerala FC at the Khuman Lampak Main Stadium in Imphal on Sunday (February 4, 2018).

Two back-to-back losses at home last week somewhat derailed the Manipur-based side’s surge to the top after they went nine games unbeaten. Redemption in front of their home crowd will be on their minds as the incentive to go top also beckons for the men in orange.

Defender Varney Kallon addressed the media, “Yes we lost those two games but still the league seems in our favour.  We start from tomorrow, and until the end of the league, we’ll do whatever possible for us to become the champions.”

He added, “It was shocking to everyone because the past two years I played in NEROCA, I never lost any game at home. So when I lost two games at home, I was shocked but this I football.”

“Whenever you are playing a league, you don’t go out to lose but when you do, you accept it. You change your focus to your goals for the end of the season. So our dream and concentration are to get done with the five remaining games in hand. Hopefully, we will do well, get the glory and wins those games. I strongly believe that we will be champions”, he added.

Assistant coach S. Premkanda reasoned for their two home losses. He said, “Football is like life. In a match one is a winner and one is a loser. The winner tries to win the match even though football is there. We lose as a team and win as a team.”

Not having found the back of the net in the last three games from open play (goal against Churchill came via a penalty), the newly-promoted side will be in a spot of bother as goals seem to have dried up suddenly.

NEROCA play four consecutive home games starting Sunday and will be hoping for a revival of fortunes to stay up with Minerva Punjab in the title race, having already played a game more than the Warriors, who incidentally dropped points the previous night.

Gokulam Kerala, on the other hand, will be eyeing their third victim on the trot after ending their five-match losing run last month with two wins on the spin.

Head coach Bino George explained, “They (NEROCA) are at the top and we are at the bottom. For us, this match is very precious. Last two matches we played good and now the boys are eager to fight against NEROCA. For us, we want to finish mid-table and for that, we have to play a good game against NEROCA. We are working hard and we will get results hopefully.”

“Slowly and steadily, the boys are getting into the groove. My squad is very young and inexperienced. Maybe only one or two of them have featured in previous seasons of the Hero I-League and now they are getting the experience. After about playing nine matches, they have got to know what all is needed to thrive in this kind of a competition and with the knowledge, we want to work hard and get results.”

He praised the Manipur-based side, “NEROCA are a good side, they play hard. They have enough players in their squad and more or less retained the same team from last season, so they are familiar with each other and have continued the tempo. It is good for NEROCA and we respect them as an opponent.”

“But for us, we are in a different stage. We are at the bottom and we have to come up. Kerala got a Hero I-League club after seven years and we want to at least qualify for the Super Cup. We owe it to our management and the state of Kerala, which is badly needed, to sustain ourselves in the I-League and play in the Super Cup,” he concluded.

With ten points from eleven games, the Hero I-League debutants’ next four fixtures will define their season as they have Mohun Bagan, Kingfisher East Bengal and Minerva Punjab lined up after this.

NEROCA will pip Minerva by a point if they win but for Gokulam Kerala, a dream of finishing mid-table will really take shape if they manage to steal points at Imphal.

source:AIFF

Mohun Bagan hold Aizawl in I-League tie

Aizawl: Mohun Bagan rode on a late strike by Manandeep Singh to hold defending champions Aizawl FC 1-1 in an I-League encounter here on Thursday.Aizawl remain sixth in the 10-team league table with 15 points from 10 matches.

K.Lalthathanga (73rd minute) had struck late in the second half to hand Aizawl the lead.

But Mohun Bagan struck back just five minutes later when their forward Akram Moghrabi was at the receiving end of an ill-timed tackle by Aizawl goalkeeper Avilash Paul inside the penalty box.

Manandeep stepped forward to blast the resultant penalty past Paul and bring Mohun Bagan back on level terms.

The result sees Mohun Bagan climb one rung to displace Shillong Lajong FC from the fourth spot in the league table. They are on 17 points from 11 matches, two points below third placed arch-rivals East Bengal.

Lajong are also on 17 points, but have been pushed down to the fifth spot as Mohun Bagan enjoy a better goal difference.


Source: News Agency

Minerva Punjab FC beat Mohun Bagan to go top of I-League

Kolkata: Minerva Punjab FC rode on Bhutanese striker Chencho Gyeltshen's first-half brace to jump to the top of the table with a 2-1 victory over Mohun Bagan in an I-League encounter at the Vivekananda Yuba Bharati Krirangan here on Wednesday.

Chencho (23rd minute, 30th) wreaked havoc during a spell of uncertainty for the hosts' defence to help his side continue their dream run and pip East Bengal to the top of the tree by one point and with a game in hand.
Mohun Bagan's Liberian attacking midfielder Ansumana Kromah missed a penalty in the first essay.

For the home team, Nigerian centre-back Kingsley Eze (90+4) scored a peach of a goal from 40 yards out before their new-signing Cameron Watson blew away a glorious chance to equalise in second-half stoppage time.

The Ludhiana-based side now have 19 points from eight games while second-placed East Bengal are on 18 points after playing nine matches.

Mohun Bagan, meanwhile, stay in fifth position with 13 points from nine games.

The Mariners got off to a positive start winning three corners in the first nine minutes.

But as the half wore on, the visitors settled in and turned the tables on the hosts in style.

In the 16th minute, Kamalpreet Singh was teed up by Kassim Aidara but the latter dragged his effort wide.

Minutes later, Chencho scored, making the most of the time he was afforded on the ball to first dodge a defender and then shoot on the turn.

The strike took a slight deflection off a Arijit Bagui who initially lost the ball to the Bhutanese striker with goalkeeper Shibinraj Kunniyil also at fault, coming out of his line needlessly.

Chencho should have doubled the lead moments later, after being one on one with keeper but his shot was saved.

The highly-rated forward did not have to rue his miss for too long though, scoring again at the half-hour mark, this time William Asiedu splitting open the sleepy rival defence with relative ease to find Chencho who placed the ball at the far post with a calm finish.

Sensing the need for an urgent response, home team coach Shankarlal Chakraborty took off former Bengaluru FC midfielder Beingaichho Beikhokhei forSk.faiaz in the hope of a goal.

The Green and Maroons came close to pulling one back when their Cameroonian striker Dipanda Dicka was felled inside the box by visiting keeper Rakshit Dagar to concede a penalty. Kromah stepped up to take the spot kick but a tame effort saw Dagar pull off an easy save.

Two minutes to half time, Asiedu back-heeled neatly for Kamalpreet who once again put his attempt wide of target.

A frenetic first half ended on a sour note when experienced Mohun Bagan defender Kinshuk Debnath had an ugly altercation with Asiedu.

In the second half, substitute Naro Hari Shrestha, who replaced the ineffective Kromah in the 77th minute, came close on two occasions while Dicka also had a chance but was off target.


Tags: Minerva Punjab FC , Mohun Bagan , I-League, Vivekananda Yuba Bharati Krirangan


Source: News Agencies

I-League: Gokulam Kerala FC to take on Minerva Punjab FC

Kozhikode: Debutants Gokulam Kerala FC will be aiming for an upset when they take on the in-form Minerva Punjab FC at the EMS Corporation Stadium on Saturday.

Gokulam Kerala FC's were beaten by reigning champions Aizawl FC, thanks to double strikes by Daniel Addo and Andrei Ionescu, in their last home outing.

Coach Bino George, during the pre-match press conference, explained that the cold plunge in foreigners' form and injury was to be blamed for the loss.

"Ours is a new team. It will take time for us to settle down as a unit. The same applies to players as well.

Foreigners are scoring goals for the other teams. We are not getting the same sort of services from ours. That is our problem," he said.

Meanwhile, he informed that the seasoned prolific striker Odafa Okolie is likely to debut tomorrow for the yellow outfit provided that the formalities are completed before that.

"Odafa Okolie knows what the team seeks from him. He scored nine goals in the second division last season and we had every reason to go after him.

"Odafa's paperwork is pending. If it is done, he will play tomorrow. Hopefully, we will get it done by today evening", George said.

Meanwhile, he added that an ex-Salgaocar FC defender Balwinder has also been added to the Gokulam Kerala FC roster recently.

He further said that his team is drawing motivation from Arrow's miraculous performance against Mohun Bagan where the young guns held the Kolkata giants to a gutsy 1-1 draw.

Indian Arrows held Mohun Bagan and this is football. So we will try hard to get a result." 

On the other hand, Minerva Punjab FC who had a fairytale-like start to the season had to leave the ground empty-handed against Aizawl FC in their last match.

They'll surely look to churn a positive result tomorrow against the debutants and Coach Khogen Singh rightly pointed it out.

"It is an away game and the experience of an away game is different. We don't want to lose games because right now we are second in the game," Singh said.

Meanwhile, Chencho, the Bhutanese playmaker is continuing to mesmerise the crowd and has been the vital cog for the Blue outfit so far. Although Khogen Singh didn't mince his words to praise him, he praised the teamwork which is actually earning them the results.

Tags: I-League, Gokulam Kerala FC, Minerva Punjab FC, EMS Corporation Stadium , Aizawl FC,  Daniel Addo , Andrei Ionescu


Source: News Agencies