Martin Chaves scored a late goal to help Churchill Brothers FC Goa hold Namdhari FC to a 1-1 draw in an I-League 2023-24 clash at the Tilak Maidan here on Saturday. Martín Cháves scored in the 75th minute to cancel out the lead Namdhari FC took through Akashdeep Singh in the 57th minute as the two teams shared the spoils.
With both sides languishing in 10th and 11th place respectively, the draw doesn’t exactly help their cause of climbing the ladder. Churchill Brothers are now at 13 points, while Namdhari are at nine points after playing 12 games each. While the Punjab side are exempt from relegation in their debut I-League campaign, the Red Machines are six points clear of the danger zone.
Young forward Akashdeep Singh put Namdhari in front in the 57th minute with his second goal of the season. However, the sending-off of defender Saurabh Bhanwala in the 73rd minute after receiving a second yellow card proved to be a big blow for the visitors. Churchill Brothers equalised shortly afterwards with a goal from skipper Martín Cháves in the 75th minute.
Both teams will be back in action on February 14. Namdhari will return home to take on relegation-battlers NEROCA in the afternoon while Churchill Brothers will make a trip to Kalyani to face Inter Kashi in the evening.
Leaders Mohammedan Sporting leave points behind in Aizawl
Aizawl FC held an off-colour Mohammedan Sporting to a goalless draw in the I-League 2023-24 at the RG Stadium on Saturday February 10, 2024. A series of missed chances meant Mohammedan were left to rue the dropped points.
The Kolkata side, however, are still the comfortable leaders in the I-League table, five points clear of second-placed Real Kashmir FC. While they now have 28 points from 13 matches, the home side have 20 from 12 outings.
Right from the start, Mohammedan Sporting looked like the cohesive unit they have been all season, not the one that turned up against Real Kashmir last week. Dominant in possession, strong in defence and most importantly, with a midfield completely in charge of the game, they looked the far better side for most of the half.
And yet, if there is one thing Aizawl are known for, it is not giving up easily and also relying on the energy of youngsters who are always eager to get to the ball and win their battles. The biggest moment of the first half fell to David Lalhlansanga, who was put through one-on-one against Nora Fernandes after some brilliant build-up play between Evgenii Koslov and Juan Carlos Nellar. Fernades was up to the task, though, pulling off a brilliant save to keep the teams level at the break.
The pattern of play continued into the second half, with Mohammedan dominating possession, creating chances, but being unable to finish Aizawl off. The home team, on the other hand, were happy to just play on the counter and sow enough doubt in their opponents to ensure they keep their defence covered.
The best chance of the game fell to Eddie Hernandez in the 83rd minute of the game. Some brilliant build-up play from Lalhlansanga saw the winger drift deep into the box and cut the ball back to the perfectly positioned Honduran inside the six-yard area. Somehow, he mishit the ball as it looped up in the goalkeeper’s arms. Aizawl took the points with delight as Mohammedan rued their missed chances which allowed a sense of competition back into the title race.
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