Tue, 30 Nov, -0001
Goa: India’s Churchill Brothers came from behind to defeat Singapore Cup holders Home United 3-1 in the AFC Cup on Tuesday at Nehru Stadium.
The visitors took an early lead in the Group E clash through Qiu Li only for Anthony Wolfe to equalise soon after for Churchill Brothers.
Stand-in captain Raju Yumnam then completed the comeback for the home side midway through the first half before substitute Balwant Singh sealed the points in stoppage time at the of the second half to leave Mariano Dias’ side just a point behind Group E leaders Persipura Jayapura from Indonesia.
“We found a great response after conceding early,” said Churchill Brothers coach Dias.
“I am very happy with our overall performance, but still we must take one game at a time and not think about qualification just yet.”
Churchill Brothers were looking to build on their 3-0 win over Maldivian side New Radiant last week and made a good start with Wolfe going close twice early on.
But Home United soon came into the game and scored from their first real attack in the 10th minute as Li exchanged passes with Ahmed Fahmie before finding the back of the net with a powerful shot from outside the penalty area.
Churchill Brothers, though, responded well after going behind and equalised just six minutes later with Wolfe heading home Saran Singh’s cross at the far post.
Left-back Raju had been overlapping well and finally got on the scoresheet in the 26th minute when he slotted the ball past Home United goalkeeper Shahril Jantan with a scorching effort from just outside the area.
Home United were clearly struggling to cope with the hot and humid conditions and their only real effort for the remainder of the first half was a Li shot that went over the crossbar.
And Churchill Brothers should have increased their lead before the interval when Cristhian Lagos latched on to a poor back pass by Precious Emuejeraye, but he hesitated and his shot was saved by Jantan.
The hosts started the second half brightly also but squandered three great opportunities as Lagos and Balwant failed to score from free headers while Wolfe put his volley wide despite being unmarked from a corner.
The tempo of the game dropped after the hour mark with the home side happy to sit back and play on the counter attack, with Home United struggling to get back into the game with Churchill Brothers custodian Lalit Thapa only called into action when Li played a low cross into the area after a fine solo run.
Jantan, though, had to be alert to deny Saran and Balwant from long range before the home side finally added a third as Balwant found the bottom corner after skipping past a couple of Home United defenders.
“My players were fatigued due to the humidity but frankly Churchill Brothers were the better side and deserved to win the game,” said Home United coach Lee Lim-Saeng after seeing his winless side suffer a second defeat of the campaign.