I-League: Churchill Brothers beat Delhi FC; Namdhari FC downs Gokulam Kerala
Churchill Brothers extended their lead at the top of the I-League points table.
Churchill Brothers (Photo credit: I-League)
Churchill Brothers held off Delhi FC’s second half onslaught to take a valuable 2-1 victory at the Coach Ali Hassan Stadium in Mahilpur on Friday.
Churchill took a commanding lead early, before fading and desperately hanging on to take the win which extended their lead at the top of the table. Delhi stay rooted to the bottom half of the table, but will take heart from an improved second-half showing against the leaders of the I-League.
After a blip to start the year, Churchill seemed to have rediscovered their winning mojo going into this game and yet it was a matter of luck and inches that kept them from going down early.
Having dribbled past two players, Sanson Pereira dropped a shoulder, shrugged away from a third and let fly at goal from the edge of the box. The ball curled agonisingly wide.
Within thirty seconds, Churchill made Delhi pay for the miss. It is the difference between proven quality and potential, and what separates those at the top of the table from those struggling closer to the bottom.
Played into the right side of the box, Wayde Lekay was looking at what could best be described as a half chance, the angle too tight and the defender too close for anything spectacular to be pulled off.
Some things spectacular are done via the mundane. Lekay casually curled his foot around the pass and directed it towards the far post, just out of Abhishek’s Calvin’s reach and into the bottom corner.
It was a wonderful finish, crafted from almost nothing, a perfect display of the South African striker’s innate ability to score when he wants. Delhi looked broken, and the game was not even a quarter of the way through.
Churchill went on the rampage and Lekay was suddenly at the heart of it all. In the 36th minute, he shrugged off a defender’s challenge, drove into the box and cut the ball towards the centre, into the six yard area.
A sliding Trijoy Dias applied the finish to it. Two goals to the good, Churchill cruised to the break. Delhi needed it, if only to regroup and find their way back.
It proved to be useful, not only to recalibrate minds, but also the players on the pitch. Delhi introduced youngster Hridaya Jain into the mix. Right on the hour mark, the substitution proved inspired.
A half cleared chance looped its way to him at the edge of the box. He adjusted his feet and let fly with the left, the volley shaping its way perfectly into the far right corner to draw Delhi to within one. The fans were on their feet and everyone bar Jain struggled to keep their jaws off the floor.
Delhi looked pumped and suddenly Churchill, vulnerable. Jain continued to be a threat and in the 76th, curled a free kick narrowly wide of the right post from a central position outside the box.
Delhi continued to press for an equaliser, and in their desperation often faltered with quality in the final third. Churchill meanwhile faded as the time ticked by and yet hung on to take a valuable win, that extended their lead to five points at the top of the table, with Namdhari and Inter Kashi still to play later in the round.
Namdhari beat Gokulam
Namdhari FC’s dream run in the 2024-25 I-League continued as they beat Gokulam Kerala FC 2-0 at the EMS Corporation Stadium on Friday.
The win – their third in a row and fifth in their last six matches – solidified second place for the Punjab side in the table. Meanwhile, Gokulam Kerala FC’s search for a first home win continued.
It ended Gokulam’s run of four unbeaten games and clean sheets in a row. They remained in fourth place with 13 points from nine games. Namdhari are on 17 points with five wins. Only leaders Churchill Brothers have won more games than them.
Efficiency is key towards winning a game of modern football, and the first half was a perfect example of it. Gokulam held the majority of the possession, had more shots on goal and even set pieces than Namdhari through the first half.
And yet, Namdhari scored twice in that first period to no answer.
Their first goal arrived from their first corner of the game in the 14th minute and with the Gokulam defence ball watching, Manvir Singh expertly headed the ball in to give them the lead.
Four minutes later this was doubled, route one again proving to be Namdhari’s strength. Goalkeeper Jaspreet Singh’s long kick caught out the backtracking Gokulam defence and forced Shibinraj Kunniyil off his line to try and clear the ball away from Cledson Da Silva. Contesting the ball, he fouled the Brazilian and the referee pointed to the spot.
The Brazilian lined up the spot kick himself, and despite Shibinraj guessing the right way, slotted it into the bottom left. Namdhari were two goals up in less than 20 minutes.
Gokulam kept pressing forward, creating and then spurning chances, often from situations where watchers would have expected better. And when they did manage to get their shots on target, Jaspreet stood strong to block them away.
The best chance of the half fell to Martín Cháves, who played a brilliant one-two at the edge of the box with Sergio Llamas, before the latter chipped a pass through to Cháves running in. The Uruguayan volleyed it high from seven yards out.
The second half played out to the tunes of the first, Gokulam constantly pushing forward in numbers, creating chances and then missing them, often in the most inventive of ways. There was little their coach Antonio Rueda could do but clutch his head in disbelief.
Jaspreet Singh played his part to perfection between the sticks for the visitors, thwarting any attempt at goal, no matter the range. In the 72nd, he was instrumental to keep the danger at bay, blocking Suhair VP’s shot towards the near post after the forward had drifted in from the left and created an opportunity on his own.
On another day, Gokulam could have had a handful of goals, but not on this one, against an opposition determined to protect their unbeaten run and a clean sheet – their fifth in a row now.
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