I-League: Churchill faces uphill task against Minerva

Minerva shared the honours with Mohun Bagan in its last match, while Churchill suffered a 0-1 defeat at the hands of Neroca FC.

Churchill Brothers has so far presented a decent performance at home this season.

Minerva Punjab FC, which leads the I-League points table with 26 points, travels to Goa to take on Churchill Brothers at the Tilak Maidan in Vasco on Friday.

Minerva shared the honours with Mohun Bagan in its last match, while Churchill suffered a 0-1 defeat at the hands of Neroca FC.

“It was very hard to digest especially after the efforts put by my players. But as professionals, we have to recover from such setbacks,” said Churchill Brothers coach Alfred Fernandes on Thursday.

Minerva, enjoying a two-point lead at the top of the table, starts as the favourite. The team from Punjab has a two-game advantage over its nearest rival Neroca.

Interestingly, Minerva has also won five of its seven away games, while it has drawn one and lost the only away tie against Aizawl FC.

“We are getting maximum points from away games also. The boys are high in motivation and psychologically, they believe in themselves,” said Minerva coach Khogen Singh.

Khogen Singh also reflected on the collective team efforts. "One player’s performance cannot change the whole team situation,” he said.

Churchill has so far presented a decent performance at home this season, especially with the performances of left-back Denechandran Meetei, P.M. Britto and goalkeeper James Kithan. “Tomorrow my boys will create something special,” Fernandes said.

Match time: 5.30 PM (IST).

Match telecast: Star Sports 2, Star Sports 2 HD.

Live streaming: Hotstar and Jio TV.