Team Herald
VASCO: Churchill Brothers FC dampened Chennai City’s plan of securing their maiden Hero I-League title with a dramatic 3-2 win over the table toppers at the Tilak Maidan, on Friday.
Current Hero I-League table toppers Chennai City drew the first blood in the 29th minute through Sandro R before Willis Plaza (38′) restored parity for the hosts. The Red Machines took the lead through Christ Remi (50′) once again but it was Pedro Manzi (69′) who did no mistake to convert from the penalty spot.
Their efforts went to waste as hero-of-the-match Willis Plaza completed his brace (71′) to help his team secure a victory.
With this win, Churchill Brothers FC elevate to third with 34 points while Chennai City FC continue to lead the table with 40 points, 4 points ahead of second-placed Quess East Bengal.
Chennai City FC, with the urgency to clinch their maiden Hero I-League title with a win against hosts Churchill Brothers FC Goa, started on a safe note today. Unlike their normal attacking style, it seemed like they were trying to soak in the pressure as Churchill Brothers went pressing hard right from the start.
Willis Plaza, Khalid Aucho and Nicholas Fernandes combined well to breach the Chennai City FC defence time and again but somehow couldn’t find a way to finish. A foul by Wayne Vaz on Nestor Gordillo earned the visitors a free kick at the top of the box.
Spanish midfielder Sandro’s free-kick, after a deflection from Plaza, gave Chennai the lead in the 29th minute.
Their efforts soon yielded a result when Willis Plaza successfully tapped the ball in from an inch-perfect cross by Nicholas Fernandes in the 38th minute.
The second half began with Chennai pressing hard for the lead but it was again Churchill Brothers who turned around the game on its head.
Following a clever interception, Churchill took the lead soon through Christ Remi taking the scoreline to 2-1 to favour of the hosts. Churchill Brothers FC Goa thereafter never really stopped trying to score their insurance goal but timely interceptions from Chennai City FC ensured the visitors weren’t faced with more difficult situations. Chennai City FC, who played a lot around the midfield today, tried a lot from the counter-attacks.
Owing to a handball by Wayne Vaz inside the penalty box, Chennai City FC were awarded a penalty. Pedro Manzi made no mistake to restore parity for Chennai City FC in the 69th minute. Churchill cut their joy short scoring the eventual winner within two minutes.
Thereafter, the game was mostly about Churchill Brothers attacking in spates but missing the targets while Chennai City FC failed to breach the sturdy Churchill defence till the end to confirm a win for the Goan outfit in their final home game.
