I-league: Minerva look to heap more misery on Churchill Bros

New Delhi: Churchill Brothers will hope to nullify table toppers Minerva Punjab FC’s potent strike force in their I-League match at home in Vasco on Friday.

Churchill’s 0-1 loss to Neroca in their previous home match consigned them to the bottom of the standings with 10 points from 10 matches. Their fortunes couldn’t have been more in contrast with Minerva, the leaders with 26 points after 11 games.

Minerva go into the match after drawing 2-2 away against East Bengal.

Bhutan striker Chencho Gyeltshen has been their star performer, scoring six times to be the league’s second highest scorer behind Mohun Bagan’s Dipanda Dicka (seven). “We should have won against Neroca after dominating the second half. We created lots of scoring chances. We cannot repeat the same mistakes tomorrow against a side who have been consistent so far,” Churchill assistant coach Alfred Fernandes said on Thursday.

“They have Chencho who is good but we have plans to take care of him. My only worry is that my players do not waste opportunities. Our opponent is a well balance side and we need to play collectively to overcome them,” he said.

The home team will be without forward Uttam Rai, who is nursing an injury suffered against Neroca.

Minerva head coach Khogen Singh is pleased with his team’s performance so far.

“We have won five away matches and with this record we hope to come out victors tomorrow to consolidate our position at the top,” he said.