ITI, Churchill face off in crucial tie

After breezing through most of the matches, Churchill suffered a shock 0-1 defeat to Mahindras at Margao last week. That apart, the Goan team should be able to put it across the team from Bangalore, especially since all their prominent players, Marcus Carvalho, Francis Silveira, Andreiy Malchevky and Rocky Barretto, have been scoring.

ITI have had a nightmarish second leg and have not been able to take advantage of their home matches. The draws against Dempo and Mahindras saw ITI at their worst. Everything fell to pieces, and they escaped on level terms only because of custodian Balaji.

The last game against East Bengal, however, saw an improved performance. Striker George Iekeh, frustrated by the lack of supply from behind, decided to take on the rival defence all by himself. And he nearly succeeded in scoring after two excellent solo runs.

His spirit seemed to rub off on the others towards the end, and they had their reputed Calcutta rivals in tatters. If ITI can continue with the same energy, there is no reason why they cannot author an upset.

Midfielder Khogen Singh’s absence might prove to be a big blow to their campaign. The Manipur-import had a busy session during the fag end of the East Bengal match but will sit out with two yellow cards. Defender Illyas Pasha has yet to recover from an ankle injury, and is likely to be on the bench.

Mahindras favourite

THRISSUR: Mahindra and Mahindra of Mumbai, flying high after their victory over Churchill Brothers, Goa, start as favourites when they take on FC Kochin.

Mahindras, with 29 points from 19 matches, are in the fifth position in the 12-team league while the Kochi team, with 28 points, are sixth after 17 matches.

The Mumbai outfit will be hoping for the players to repeat their performance against Churchill, to stop Kochin’s progress. Mahindras coach-cum-manager Harish Rao said: “I am confident my boys will deliver the goods. They are in good form and are raring to go. Kochin is a good side and we had drawn goalless in our home match, but have to do well here to improve our position in the league table.”

A few players are in the injured list — Samir Jamal (defender), Nitin Pradhan (striker) and Abhay Kumar (mid-fielder). However, the form shown by strikers Jordanian Bassim Khatib and Mohammed Najib (a former FC Kochin striker), leading goal scorers for their side with five goals each, should cheer them up.

They have a well-knit mid-field, spearheaded by the brainy Aqeel Ansari ably supported by Shamsi Raza, Satish Minz, Khalid Siddique and Abbas Ali Rizvi and a strong defence in Nigerians Bernard and Christopher, Suramani Singh and Ramesh Razak.

“Mahindras are a tough side and are coming here after beating one of the strong teams like Churchill. My boys are in good mood and are also in fine nick after our win over Tollygunge Agragami,” said TK Chathunny, the FC Kochin coach.

However, the absence of striker Noushad, who scored the crucial winner in their tie against State Bank of Travancore (SBT), last month and central defender Mahesh Gawli, both with two yellow cards, is likely to be felt.