Depleted Churchill hope for best against hungry Warriors FC

The Goan side come into the game with five of their key players missing out. Brazilian talisman Roberto Mendes da Silva (Beto) is out with a severe hamstring strain while both Steven Dias and Lenny Rodrigues have ankle issues and Gabonese striker Henri Antchouet is down with diarrhoea. In addition to this,defender Lamine Tamba is unavailable due to suspension.

“We have travelled for this important clash with a large number of young players. These players have proven themselves in the Goan league and some have also had a taste of I-League action. This game is a massive experience for them and we are hoping for the best,” was the rather brave opening remark from coach Dias.

Denzil Franco,Churchill Brothers’ long serving defender,said though it wasn’t the best of times for his side to play a strong foreign club,they would have to come out fighting. “We will obviously miss Beto,Dias and Rodrigues but we have Balal Arezou available and that’s a big plus. We just need to battle hard and give a good account of ourselves,” he said.

Arezou is most likely to partner Indian national captain Sunil Chhetri in the Churchill forward line. The 24-year-old Afghan international on loan from Norwegian club Asker will be making his first AFC Cup appearance for Churchill Brothers SC.

Warriors FC are currently languishing at the bottom of Group E standings with no win from the two games that they have played. Churchill are a rung above their opponent’s courtesy of one point earned in the draw against Indonesian club Semen Padang in the last round.

Warriors FC captain Daniel Bennett was bullish about his side’s chances to force a win and give his side a chance in the competition. “We have one objective and that is to win the game. I am sure Churchill Brothers will be looking for a win and that means that we will have an open game,” he said. The skipper also mentioned that his side had nothing to lose.

“We have our backs against the wall and we tend to play our best football when faced with such a situation,” he said.

Warriors FC coach V Selvaraj said the experience of having played in the tournament earlier would come in handy. “We have been playing in this tournament for quite some time and we understand the pressure involved. Also,we earned a win during our earlier trip to India (1-0 victory against Mahindra United),and we are confident of repeating that,” said the coach.

The game kicks off at 3 pm on Tuesday.