VASCO: Churchill Brothers will face league leaders Minerva Punjab FC, in their Hero I-League encounter where both teams would be desperately fighting for vital points, at the Tilak Maidan, Vasco, on Friday.
Table toppers Minerva come into the game following a bitter-sweet 2-2 draw against direct title-rivals Kingfisher East Bengal.
The Ludhiana-based side were in a winning position against East Bengal leading 2-1 until they conceded a late goal in the 89th minute.
Meanwhile, Churchill Brothers are still recovering from their 0-1 defeat against Neroca FC in a game where they threw the kitchen sink on Gift Raikhan’s men.
Raikhan said after the game that his team were lucky to walk away with all three points which helped them close the gap on Minerva.
“It was very hard to digest especially after the efforts put by my players. But as professionals, we have to recover from such setbacks,” Churchill Brothers coach Alfred Fernandes said today at the pre-match press conference.
On paper, Minerva looks to be the favourites going into the game. They lead second-placed Neroca by two points while having two games in hand. A win will see them opening up a five-point gap over Neroca and nine over East Bengal.
One of the reasons why they are in first place is down to having impressive and enviable results when it comes to the away games this season.
Astonishingly, they have won five of their seven away games this season while drawing one and losing one which came against defending champions Aizawl FC.
“We are getting maximum points from away games also. The boys are high in motivation and psychologically, they believe in themselves,” Minerva coach Khogen Singh said.
Having Chencho Gyeltshen on the top of his game will be a cause of concern for the Red Machines but Khogen Singh prefers to stress on the collective team effort.
“One player’s performance cannot change the whole team situation,” Khogen said while playing down Chencho’s influence.
