With a handful of encounters to go in I-League, Churchill Brothers FC Goa returns to the Fatorda Stadium to host Gokulam Kerala FC on Sunday.
Churchill Brothers are currently placed fourth in the table with 20 points from 14 games. They still have six games to play and if all goes well can muster a total of 38 points. Whereas Gokulam Kerala is placed seventh in the points table with 19 points from 14 games and in order to end up amongst the top 5, they will have to win at least four of their five encounters in order to cross the thirty point mark.
Churchill Brothers are coming on the back of a shock defeat at the hands of Trau FC 1-0 which severely dented their proposition of being crowned league champions for the third time.
Bernardo Tavares, Head Coach, Churchill Brothers FC Goa, said, “Yes, the loss against Trau was a little unnerving but I believe we are only to blame for it. We weren’t able to create enough goal scoring chances when we should have. Trau was disciplined and pretty hard to breakdown on the night.”
“If we dwell too deep into the equation we will not able to concentrate on the match and I believe we should just have one goal that is to win all the remaining matches and hope that the rest of the events turn out to be in our favour,” he added.
Gokulam Kerala, on the other hand, is coming on the back of a hard-fought 1-1 draw against Quess East Bengal. The result though doesn’t give a clear picture of the loss that Gokulam Kerala faced. The Malabarians will be missing the services of Haroon Amiri and Naocha Singh who were sent off in the match after receiving two yellow cards respectively.
Marcus Joseph, captain, who happens to be the highest scorer from the Kerala outfit, said, “It has been a difficult season for us. When the league started we were in tremendous form but some close matches have really cost us. We are missing two of our mainstays in the defence line up in against Churchill and it always unsettles a settled line-up.”
He added, “Churchill Brothers are going to be a tough encounter. They are playing at home and will come at us all guns blazing. In addition, they are desperate to keep up the pressure on Bagan. We will have to be disciplined and ensure that we make most of the chances that we get during the match.”