Arunava about Football A look at football & the world through my eyes!
Related Articles
In what will be a battle pitting the 12th I-League’s top goal scorers Willis Plaza and Jobby Justin against each other, Churchill Brothers take on East Bengal Club on Thursday, December 20 at the Tilak Maidan in Vasco da Gama, Goa. The game kicks off at 5pm IST.
Trinidadian Plaza has scored seven times for Churchill Brothers this season to be on top of the goalscorers chart, while East Bengal’s Justin is second with five goals to his name.
The two-time former champions have 13 points from eight games so far while East Bengal have 12 from seven and are fourth and sixth on the points table respectively.
A win on Thursday is destined to take either of them into second place and within touching distance of I-League leaders Chennai City FC, who have 18 points from eight completed games.
The visitors will be the more confident side going into the game having beaten archrivals Mohun Bagan in their previous game, while the hosts suffered their first defeat of the season in their last encounter against Manipur’s NEROCA FC.
Churchill Brothers have otherwise been fluent over the past month or so and have been prolific at the Tilak Maidan, scoring eight goals in the two games there so far. Besides, Willis Plaza, Gambian winger Dawda Cessay, midfielder Khalid Aucho and right winger Israel Gurung have put in very good performances.
Their defence has let in eight goals and Romanian coach Petra Gigiu will be hoping the backline does not suffer more given injuries.
He was circumspect on the prospects ahead of the game, revealing, “East Bengal is a very strong team and at the same time some of our players will be absent like Hussien Eldor and Wayne Vaz. We hope to play well and score one goal more than the opponents.”
For the ‘Red and Gold’ brigade, it should be all about maintaining the momentum. The derby win is sure to boost the confidence of the side but Spanish coach Alejandro Menendez Garcia will have his task cut out to ensure players are in full flow after the high of a win against archrivals Mohun Bagan.
East Bengal have scored 14 times in their seven games and with Jobby Justin in full flow, coach Garcia’s main worry will also be to ensure he gets the defensive combination right. They have let in 10 goals so far and with Churchill Brothers’ goal-savy forward line, they could ill afford lapses.
“Churchill Brothers are playing well, especially the attacking game. It might be difficult for us. All games are equally important and we will expect our team to win this match,” said Alejandro. “We will try to follow our own style, the way we are working. Plaza is a special player in the box and we have to play an extra player in that area so that he cannot score.”
Garcia will also not have the services of Salam Ranjan Singh in defence, as he is on national duty and Costa Rican World Cupper Johny Acosta will have to be at the top of his game, given the profile and importance of the match.
