Star-studded Churchill hold Panjim Footballers in GPL

Photo: Anthony Fernandes

Ravish Narvekar

Panjim centre-back Dhiraj Chouhan was judged the Man of the Match for brilliant performance in the entire match.

Panjim Footballers and Churchill Brothers played out a 1-1 draw in a second-round match of the Goa Professional League played at Duler Stadium on Tuesday evening. Doyal Alves broke the deadlock in the 30th minute for the Capital city side, while Nongmeikapam Meitei cancelled it in the 44th minute for the Red Machines.

Panjim who had lost their opening match against Dempo SC by a solitary goal had only one change to their side as midfielder Malcolm Gonsalves made the start for the Capital city side. On the other hand, Churchill Brothers also had three changes to his side which secured a lucky win over Vasco SC in their first-round match as their head coach Peter Vales named the I-League players Meldon D’Silva, Shubert Pereira and Chaitan Komarpant in the starting XI.

Alent Colaco whose goal made the difference in the last match, started the match on a bright note as he snatched the ball at the top of the box from a Panjim defender and selflessly passed it to well-position forward Aaron Bareto in the box but the lad’s weak shot was easily collected by Panjim keeper Preston Rego. They had another opportunity as their U20 Pushkar Prabhu sent a through pass to Chaitan in the box. The Experienced midfielder was in the commanding position to put his side ahead in the 7th minute but before he could do any damage to the rivals, the assistant referee Raja Pir raised the flag for offside as the Chaitan failed to beat the offside trap.

The Red Machines who were continuously raiding rivals’ cathedral had the best chance to open their tally in the 24h minute when Schubert made a through pass to Aaron in the box but rival keeper Preston came off his line to thwart the Churchill forward in one-on-one. The ball once again rolled to Schubert who this time curled it to Chaitan but the midfielder fumbled to connect from inside the box.

Though Churchill managed to dominate the session with continuous attacks, it were Panjim who drew the first blood at the half-hour mark when their forward Doyal Alves snatched the ball from Churchill defender Meldon and clinically finished the ball in the back of the nylons to make it 1-0 for the Capital city side. A few minutes later, he once again found himself unmarked in the box with the ball at his feet but this time he could not keep his curling strike on the frame.

They almost doubled their lead in the 36th minute when Jonas Colaco found Nicklas Noronha in the box with a long freekick which he headed to Britto Pereira near the frame. The forward later beat the Churchill keeper Subhajit Bhattacharjee with a smart touch from the goalmouth but assistant referee Joaquim Abranches cut shot the Panjim’s joy with a raised flag for the offside.

After several missed chances, the Red Machines finally managed to find the net in the 44th minute as a fine cross by George D’Souza was nicely connected by Nongmeikapam Meitei from close which entered the frame making it all square for Churchill.

The start of the second session saw back-to-back attacks from Churchill but brilliant defending by Dhiraj Chouhan and Akash Banavalikar, and aimless strikes from Churchill’s substitutes Gradley Carvalho and Trijoy Dias restricted the scoreline.

Panjim officials along with their supporters from the stands were furious at the referee Niazi Shaik Abu in the 56th minute when Churchill defender Meitei in the process of clearing a dangerous pass, brought down Doyal in the box but the match official overlooked the incident. Panjim midfielder Nicklas who found the loose ball in the same minutes curled it to Jonas in the box but the latter failed to connect with just rival keeper Subhajit in the frame.

A minute later, Nicklas came with a fine through pass to Doyal who tried to cutback it to Britto in the box but Churchill centre-back Meitei came with a timely clearance. At the other end, Churchill’s George came with two fine crosses in the box but first Dhiraj clear the curler before Schubert could reach it, while a few seconds later, Akash followed suit to clear the danger.

Churchill substitute Bradley should have taken his side into the lead with just five minutes remaining to the fulltime. George set him up with a long pass from the halfway line where the U20 midfielder danced past Panjim’s centre-backs Akash and Dhiraj with brilliant footwork but could beat their custodian Preston with a powerful strike.

Panjim had one last chance before the full-time whistle as their substitute midfielder Alvito was fed with a short pass at the top of the box where he tried his luck with a fierce strike only to see it nicely fisted over the crossbar by Churchill keeper Subhajit.