PANAJI: Churchill Brothers will be keen to bounce back from two shock defeats as a victory on Sunday against TRAU can hand the Hero I-League title to the Red Machines if another result goes in their favour.
While Fernando Varela’s boys were cruising on top of the League for much of the season, two back-to-back defeats have left them stunned and almost on the cusp of falling out of the title race.
Churchill-TRAU clash at Kishore Bharati Krirangan in Kolkata, kicks off at 2 PM IST and the match will be live-streamed on 1Sports, whilst being streamed on their Facebook page.
A win over TRAU will give two-time champions Churchill Brothers the title if Gokulam Kerala FC drop points against Mohammedan SC later in the day.
At the official pre-match press conference, AIFF Media quoted coach Varela as saying: “We have to be focused and correct our mistakes. We’ve the same chance to win the Hero I-League as before, and nothing changes for us. We have to stay on course and stay determined.”
“Our team has already shown the level of football we can play in all the matches that we have played. We need to believe in our ability with the ball and have to trust ourselves. The boys will fight till the final second in the clash tomorrow (Sunday) and aim to get a positive result.”
“TRAU is a tough opponent, they have good Indian players and they have the ability to fight for all the time. They have quality players and will be looking to make the most of their chance on Sunday. However, we want to have control of the game and be ready for TRAU’s counter-attack football,” he added.
Defender Kamran Farooque said, “It is like a final tomorrow (Sunday) for us and we will do our best to win it. We have to utilise whatever we have learned during this season, to the best of its use. We have to do the hard work on the pitch and we will aim for nothing less than a win.”
