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Journalism of Courage
MUMBAI, FEBRUARY 14: Air-india’s parting shot landed Churchill Brothers a 1-0 defeat at the Cooperage today. However, the loss did little to deny the Goan team a place in the Super Six of the Coca Cola National Football League. Group A leaders Jagatjit Cotton Mills, Phagwara (JCT), and Mohun Bagan were the other to make it to the Super League phase as the group matches drew to a close this evening.
But Air-India’s victory, only their second in the league, did cause some anxious moments for Churchill team management, but once news filtered in about the JCT-Tollygunge Agragami draw, they breathed a sigh of relief.Air-India played with the resolve which was not seen in the last few matches. There were plenty of reasons too. Coach Bimal Ghosh was inundated with calls from Calcutta asking him whether they had fixed’ the match with Churchill.
Churchill were expected to run the show. But their forwards failed badly. Neither did they have any kind of domination. Only after Philip Mensah was ejected after two yellow cards and they conceded a goal, did they show some fight. But never did their forwards look like scoring.
The genesis of Churchill’s problem was in the 6th minute when Mensah elbowed Air-India defender Kuntal Chakraborthy which earned him the yellow card. In the 60th minute, Philip gave Kuntal another blow with the back of his right fist. Referee Michael Andrews consulted reserve referee Bosco Pereira before giving the marching orders to the erring player.
Though Churchill got two clear opportunities — Mensah in the first half and Aqueel Ansari in the second — Air-India goalkeeper Partha Das thwarted them in one-to-one situations.
Air-India bravely substituted Khalid and Tigga in the second half. Khalid was brilliant with his touch while Tigga was outrunning the Churchill defence. But Nitin Shetty and Abbas Ali Rizvidelivered the goods — the goal in the 87th minute. From a clearance, Abbas ran down the right and back-heeled the ball beating his marker Ozuman Hussein. Nitin Shetty got the ball at the centre with virtually no defender. He moved forward and shot the ball even as goalkeeper Edward Ansah charged out.
Ghosh was glad that his players could answer the charges of match-fixing in the best possible way. “They showed the right spirit today,” he said.Churchill coach Danny McLennan bemoaned the lack of temperament in his players. “They do not know how to handle pressure. Two years ago it happened (when Churchill needed to only draw with Indian Bank and they lost). It has happened again.”
Relieved that Churchill had qualified, McLennan wondered how his team will pull through in the next stage “where they play many matches in quick succession. I do not have the bench strength for that.”
The permutations and combinations before the match were mind-boggling. Churchill and Mohun Bagan had to win. JCT had thebest shot with a draw good enough for them. Tollygunge Agragami had to win and hope that Air-India upset Churchill. The latter happened but they could only manage a draw against JCT at their home turf, Rabindra Sarovar Stadium. had they won, that would have put out either Churchill or JCT. But Air-India’s victory settled all arguments. With Bagan trouncing Dempo 3-0, The Calcutta team is assured of not only a berth, but also become the group leaders (17 points, Goal difference plus 7). JCT finish second with (17 points, plus 4) while Churchill go through on 14 points thanks to their better goal difference (plus six). Tollygunge have minus one.
