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East Bengal looked like a shadow of what they have been so far this season as they went down to the Churchill Brothers, who showed their fans that they are not going to let them down. After thumping the giants 3-0 yesterday, Churchill certainly passed a strong message to their closest rivals that they are favourites and will clinch the title this year if things don’t go wrong.
The win meant a lot for Churchill as it was sweet revenge for their home loss, where the Red & Gold Brigade defeated them 3-0; the win also proved that they were the better team and they deserved the number one spot in the league table. They now have a four-point lead against East Bengal.
It was a good team effort by the Churchill Brothers; while Churchill had a comparably younger and inexperienced side in the previous encounters, the services of Beto and Steven Dias up front and Bilal in defense indicated that they were a completely different side altogether and weren’t going to give easy points away.
Beto was outstanding in the middle and Steven Dias also played a crucial role in the attack. The perfect sync between attack and the midfield helped the Goan side to clinch the victory. The lack of striking ability for the Kolkata side also played a role. Apart from Chidi, East Bengal did not have anyone who looked in good touch up front. Robin Singh came close in the first half and Manandeep Singh in the second, but failed, thanks to Lebanese defender Bilal who led the Churchill defense responsibly.
East Bengal coach Trevor James Morgan’s plan of marking Beto didn’t work out, as the defenders could not handle him. In fact, Mehtab, who did this job very well previously, looked completely out of sorts this time round, meaning that Abhijit Mondal had plenty of work to do between the sticks. East Bengal midfielders Cavin Lobo and Penn Orji combined well, but they failed to torment the Churchill backline. In the end, it was a frustrating game for East Bengal.
The win certainly gives Churchill some relief as they are now sitting quite well at the top with 37 points from 15 games. East Bengal were offered a golden chance to go on top, but the loss keeps them in second place, with 33 points. Churchill will know that if they win their next two games, they will have effectively put the title in the bag.
