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New Radiant 1 (Umair 40)
Churchill Brothers (Naveen 64, Wolfe 67)
New Radiant: Imran Mohamed; Ahmed Abdhulla (Hamza 85), Ahmed Shafiu, Jonathan Quartey, Mohamed Rasheed; Akram Abdul Ghanee, Mohamed Sifan, Ahmed Niyaz (Mohamed Karam 73), Ali Fasir (Shamweel Qasim 62); Ibrahim Fazeel; Mohammad Umair
Churchill Brothers: Lalit Thapa; Satish Singh, Sanjay Balmuchu, Dharmaraj Ravanan, Naveen Kumar; Anthony Pereira (William Colaco 51), Lenny Rodrigues, Micky Fernandes, Charles Miranda (Saran Singh 65), Warren Rebello (Richard Costa 74); Anthony Wolfe
Churchill Brothers came from behind to win 2-1 away at Maldives champions New Radiant and qualify for the AFC Cup round of 16 as Group E runners-up behind Indonesia’s Persipura Jayapura.
Persipura Jayapura surprisingly lost 2-0 at home to Singapore’s Home United and thus Churchill Brothers had to win to book a knockout berth. The Indian club were behind at the interval as Mohamed Umair put New Radiant in front in the first half.
The Red Machines were reduced to ten early in the second half as Sanjay Balmuchu was sent off but Umair missed a penalty and then New Radiant defender Jonathan Quartey also saw red for violent conduct.
Churchill still had plenty to do in almost unplayable conditions due to the heavy rainfall but goals from Naveen Kumar and Anthony Wolfe gave the Goan club a memorable victory.
With several first-team regulars missing, Churchill Brothers coach Mariano Dias had to field youngsters Charles Miranda and Warren Rebello, who operated just behind lone striker Wolfe. The experienced duo of Micky Fernandes and Anthony Pereira were also in the eleven.
There were no real surprises in the New Radiant lineup as Ibrahim Fazeel supported Mohammad Umair upfront while Akram Abdul Ghanee was preferred to Mukhthar Naseer on the right wing.
Needing a win to qualify for the knockouts, Churchill Brothers looked to make a positive start but New Radiant had the first effort as Ali Fasir narrowly missed the target from eight yards.
The Indian champions responded with Wolfe trying his luck from outside the box but couldn’t test New Radiant skipper and custodian Imran Mohamed. A minute later, New Radiant right back Ahmed Abdhulla nearly gifted a goal to Churchill Brothers as he headed a cross onto the bar of his own goal.
Despite that scare, New Radiant controlled the game and dominated possession. They could and should have gone in front when Umair sent Fasir through on goal but the winger put his shot wide despite only having Churchill custodian Lalit Thapa to beat.
At the other end Churchill centre-back Dharmaraj Ravanan latched on to a loose ball from a corner but his effort was saved by Imran Mohamed.
There was a quiet phase in the game after that but Wolfe continued to look dangerous for the visitors and nearly provided an assist for Rebello. The Trinidad & Tobago attacker when past a defender and keeper Imran Mohamed but his pass for an unmarked Rebello was cleared by Mohamed Rasheed.
The deadlock was finally broken five minutes before the interval as Maldives international Umair found the back of the net with a well-placed freekick.
Churchill Brothers had a chance to equalise on the stroke of halftime as Satish Singh played a good ball into the box but Wolfe’s header went agonisingly wide.
The second half got off to a controversial start as Kuwaiti referee Ali Shaban awarded the hosts a penalty and sent off Churchill defender Balmuchu for a foul on Fasir. Balmuchu was the last man but appeared to have got the ball.
Umair stepped up to take the penalty but blasted his effort over the bar. That kept Churchill Brothers in the game and they were given a further boost as New Radiant’s Ghanaian defender Quartey was shown a straight red for an off-the-ball challenge on Wolfe.
With both teams down to ten, more spaces opened up and Churchill wasted a great opportunity when Micky Fernandes tested Imran Mohamed but Miranda somehow failed to score from the rebound.
Churchill enjoyed a good spell of pressure after that missed chance and the dominance finally paid off as Naveen went past Ahmed Shafiu after a good overlapping run and found the back of the net to make it 1-1.
Three minutes later Churchill completed the turnaround as Wolfe produced a trademark solo run and slotted the ball past Imran Mohamed with a powerful strike to put the Goan club on course for a knockout berth.
Due to the heavy rain, the players found it difficult to keep the ball in the final quarter of the match and that suited Churchill Brothers as they didn’t have to chase the game anymore. Substitute Saran Singh though went close with an effort that went just over the bar.
New Radiant finally worked a shooting opportunity with Abdul Ghanee going for goal but his shot was straight at Thapa. At the other end, Churchill nearly made it 3-1 from a counter attack with Lenny Rodrigues carrying the ball into the New Radiant box but his pass for Wolfe was cleared with a last-ditch tackle by Rasheed.
Churchill Brothers could have had a heartbreak in stoppage time when Umair was clean through on goal but he scuffed his shot to the relief of the Indian football fans as the I-League and Federation Cup holders progressed to the last 16.
