Revenge is not in Churchill’s mind against Mariners

by Chittu Shetty March 3, 2018

Churchill Brother FC Goa and Mohun Bagan, one of the fierce rivals of Hero I-League will go toe-to-toe again at the Tilak Maidan, Vasco on Saturday (March 3, 2018) in the final home fixture of the Goan outfit this season.

The last time these two sides met, it was a field day for Mohun Bagan as they triumphed 5-0 at the Barasat stadium in Kolkata. Since then, the ride has been a roller coaster ride for the Kolkata outfit as well as their counterpart who are battling out to survive in the premier league of the country.

“We conceded five against Bagan, but that was the previous Churchill brothers. Revenge is not our mind but it’s about all three points”, Churchill Brothers coach Alfred Fernandes said on the eve of the match. Meanwhile, Mohun Bagan coach Sankarlal Chakraborty said that this is will be a different game altogether, “In our home match we won 5-0, but now the situation is different and it won’t be easy,” he said.

The Goan side come into the game after rescuing a point against Gokulam FC in their last match. The Red Machines were staring at defeat after Gokulam FC who were leading 1-0 until the 90th minute before debutant Onyeama Frincis Okechukwu struck to snatch a point.

The Red Machines currently sit eighth on the table with seventeen points with two games to go -counting the Bagan clash. “We have two matches, we win two matches and we are in the Super Cup. That is an incentive and the players know the importance of tomorrow’s match,” Alfred said.

Meanwhile, Mohun Bagan had a fruitful outing against Indian Arrows at the Tilak Maidan with a 2-0 victory in their last game. As things stand, Mohun Bagan have ten points more than Churchill as they sit fourth in the table with 27 points.

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“If you see the initial stage in the I-League, Churchill struggled. Then they changed the foreigners and they played excellently in some matches. They had to replace Koffi and Kalu again. They brought in new players again. That means the aim and ambition are always high with Churchill”, Bagan coach suggested.

New arrivals flew in as Okechukwu and Zunapio Jeancy were brought in for the final three games of the season. Okechukwu made an important contribution with a goal against Gokulam Kerala FC that earned them a vital point.

“It’s not about Dicka or anyone else, our strength is our indomitable team spirit”, Chakraborty said. As far as the recent form guide is concerned, in the last five matches, Churchill have one win, three defeats and a draw. Meanwhile, the Kolkata giants have three wins, a draw and a defeat from their last five outings.

The result of the match between Chennai City FC and Minerva Punjab FC will have a lot of bearing on both Bagan and Churchill; for the title ambitions of Bagan and avoiding relegation for Churchill. “After Minerva match, we have to sit the players and the situation also we know. According to this situation we have to see. The result will not only affect us but Churchill also”, Chakraborty conceded.

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