Goa Pro League: 10-men Churchill Brothers share spoils with FC Goa

The Red Machines played most of the second half with a man less as their defender Rajender Bairola was sent off in the 47th minute.

10-men Churchill Brothers Sports Club played their heart out to hold FC Goa to a 1-1 draw in the Goa Professional League match played at Duler Stadium on Thursday. Serineo Fernandes put FC Goa into the lead in the 7th minute, while Churchill Brothers cancelled it in the 40th minutes with a brilliant goal from Afdal Varikkodan.

Rakesh Das and Asif Molla were the two changes made in the lineup by Churchill coach Armando Colaco following their 3-2 win over Guardian Angel SC in the last match, whereas FC Goa coach Deggie Cardozo brought back their defender Lalhmangaihsanga in the starting XI after missing out in the last match win over YC Manora.

The Red Machines who had won back-to-back previous match, started the match on an attacking note and came close to scoring in the 2nd minute as Afdal Varikkodan snatched the ball from FC Goa’s Christy Davis and tried his luck from top of the box but keeper Dylan Da Silva made an acrobatic effort to push his goalbound strike for a corner.

Though Churchill who were continuously attacking, the ISL development side stunned the opponents as they managed to score from the counter-attack as their U20 midfielder initiated the move with a through pass to Christy. The midfielder saw his teammate Serineo Fernandes making the darting run and released it to him, where the speedy winger easily beat Churchill’s Trijoy to enter the box and clinically finished the ball in the back of the nylons to put FC Goa into the lead.

Churchill continued to attack and once again came close to scoring in the 23rd minute as Rajender Bairola sent a long throw-in in the box to Trijoy but the lad saw his strike hit FC Goa defender before going out for a corner. However, they managed to level back in the 40th minute as Afdal stole the ball from FC Goa’s midfielder Lalremruata HP and made no mistake to beat their custodian from inside the box to make it 1-1 for his side.

Churchill suffered a blow just after crossing the sides as their defender Rajender was sent off following a second yellow card for a rough tackle on FC Goa’s Vasim Inamdar. Taking advantage of a man short, FC Goa came with a series of attacks on the rivals but could not break Churchill’s last line.

In one of these, the Junior Gaurs almost took the lead in the 50th minute when their defender Malsawmtluanga Ralte made a darting run on the right flank and made a cross in the box. Churchill keeper Debnath Mondal made a blunder as the powerless cross slipped f his gloves where FC Goa’s Joybert Almeida went for a glory with a header but Churchill defender Kidron Fernandes cleared the ball off the goalline to keep his side safe.

Failing to score, FC Goa coach Deggie brought in Romeo Fernandes replacing their defender Lalhmangaihsanga to sharpen them in the attack but the forward could not make any changes to the scoreboard. FC Goa should have scored the winner in the last 15 minutes but aimless shots from Romeo, Vasim and Lalremruata restricted them from grabbing all three points.

FC Goa had the best opportunity in the 78th minute when Ralte made a fine low cross to substitute Velroy Fernandes in the goalmouth but Churchill keeper Debnath who fumbled last time, came with a brilliant block to push the ball for a corner.

For more updates, follow Khel Now on Twitter, Instagram and join our community on Telegram.