KALYANI: Mohammedan SC forced Churchill Brothers to taste their second straight defeat of the season. In a scintillating performance, the Black Panthers defeated the Red Machines 4-1 here on Monday to open up the Hero I-League title race. TRAU’s win earlier in the day put the onus on Churchill to perform but they failed. CB have slipped to second place on goal difference.
Hira Mondal’s strike (15th minute) was cancelled by Luka Majcen’s penalty (21st), before Vanlalbiaa Chhangte’s goal (65th) and Pedro Manzi’s late brace (86th and 93rd) proved to be the difference between the two sides.
TRAU triumph: Komron Tursunov’s 81st-minute free-kick helped TRAU defeat RoundGlass Punjab FC 1-0 in a highly-contested match at Kalyani on Monday. Coming on the back of a 3-3 draw against Mohammedan where TRAU should have won the game comfortably. RoundGlass Punjab FC played like they had a point to prove, eager to throw their hat into the title race. In the 5th minute, Chencho Gleytshen cut inside the box from the left flank and shot inches wide of the goal as TRAU survived an early scare.
Unfazed, TRAU started playing on their own terms with Bidyshagar Singh and Komron Tursunov combining well in the final third. In the 12th minute, Bidya released a well-weighted through ball for Komron, who found the net but was flagged offside by the referee.
Kerala, Kashmir draw: Gokulam Kerala FC dropped two vital points in their quest for Hero I-League silverware as the Malabarians were held to a 1-1 draw by Real Kashmir FC at the VYBK Stadium in Kolkata. Basit Ahmed Bhat’s 13th minute goal was cancelled by Dennis Antwi’s 24th-minute penalty as both teams shared the points.
In an end-to-end first half that saw multiple chances for both sides, it was Real Kashmir FC that attacked first. The urgency to snatch points from Gokulam Kerala FC could be seen in the Snow Leopards’ game as they adopted a highly aggressive stance in the opening minutes of the clash. As early as the 5th minute, the Snow Leopards could have gone ahead when a corner by Lalrindika Ralte was headed inches wide of the goal by Lukman Adefemi.
Points Table
Phase – 2 Group A
Team | P | W | D | L | Pts |
Tiddim Road Athletic Union | 13 | 7 | 4 | 2 | 25 |
Churchill Brothers FC Goa | 13 | 7 | 4 | 2 | 25 |
Gokulam Kerala FC | 13 | 7 | 2 | 4 | 23 |
Mohammedan SC | 13 | 5 | 5 | 3 | 20 |
RoundGlass Punjab FC | 13 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 19 |
Real Kashmir FC | 13 | 4 | 6 | 3 | 18 |