I-League: Churchill Bros down Dempo to move two points clear at the top | Goa News
Margao: There was excitement all around, cheers from the stands and some high intensity on the field. It was the Goan derby and true to form, the team at the top — Churchill Brothers FC – showed just why they are the favourites to win the I-League as they scripted a convincing 3-1 against Dempo SC at Nehru Stadium, Fatorda, on Wednesday.
An own-goal from Mohamed Ali (26’) set the tone for Churchill, while Wayde Lekay (35’) and Stendly Fernandes (58’) helped them race to a three-goal lead until Shaher Shaheen (66’) reduced the margin for Dempo.
With Inter Kashi FC being held 2-2 by Sreenidi Deccan FC, Churchill now have a two-point lead at the top of the table with just three games left to be played. After 19 games, Churchill moved to 37 points while Inter Kashi remained second on 35 points.
Dempo’s position remained unchanged in ninth place with 22 points.
Churchill head coach Dimitris Dimitriou made five changes to the starting 11 from the last game where they had demolished Shillong Lajong FC 6-1.
They had an explosive midfield with local talents Stendly Fernandes, Kingsley Fernandes and Trijoy Dias, guided by Senegalese Pape Gassama.
Upfront, South African Wayde, one of the league’s leading scorers, led the attack alongside Sebastian Gutierrez.
On the other hand, Dempo head coach Samir Naik didn’t disturb his line-up that crushed SC Bengaluru 8-1 in the last game.
The five-time national champions started with promise. They made the right moves but couldn’t take their chances. Ali came close first, but his header fell straight into the hands of Churchill custodian Sayad Kadir. Then, Juan Mera played a quick one-two and set up Pruthvesh Pednekar, but the defender’s grounder went straight to the keeper.
Thereafter, Churchill got into their rhythm and were simply unstoppable. Their counters were fast and entertaining. In one such move, Gassama blazed through the midfield and found Trijoy, only for his low curling effort to be blocked by keeper Ashish Sibi, who later denied Sebastian from distance.
Wayde’s outside of the boot effort then missed the target while a header hit the side-netting.
Churchill finally broke the deadlock in the 26th minute. Captain Lamgoulen Semkholun sent in a rather weak cross from the right, but it did the trick. The ball travelled to Churchill centre-back Aubin, whose effort deflected off Mohamed Ali and was just enough to cross the goalline, signalled by the assistant referee.
Churchill kept focus and continued with the same intensity. They were rewarded again in the 35th minute from a counter as Lamgoulen, with only Ali and Shaher ahead, put Wayde through on goal and the South African striker didn’t disappoint with his 12th goal of the season.
In the second half, Churchill were trying to execute Dimitris’ plan to hold on to the ball. They did for most part but eventually fumbled in the 55th minute when Kingslee brought down Cristian Damian Perez inside the box.
The cool and composed Marcus Joseph, who had seven goals in just five games, stepped up to take the penalty. However, the Trinidadian ballooned the ball over, even as Sayad dived the right way.
Churchill knew they couldn’t rest on their two-goal cushion and found their third in the 58th minute when Stendly gave finishing touches after an assist from Wayde.
Dempo were not going to give up that easily and soon made three changes with Laximanrao Rane, Lukman Abegunrin and Daniel Muthu, hoping for a turnaround.
They pulled one back through a set piece in the 65th minute as Shaher headed in a freekick by Laximanrao. But the former champions couldn’t get more as Churchill completed a double over their famous rivals this season.
