The Hindu : Sport / Football : Churchill starts as favourite

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Wednesday, Nov 07, 2007
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Churchill starts as favourite

Principal Correspondent

NEW DELHI: On current form, Churchill Brothers and Mahindra United are two way different sides. The young and exuberant Churchill is certainly livelier than the drab and over-defensive Mahindra — a mix that might either make or mar the 120th Durand Cup final at the Ambedkar Stadium here on Wednesday.

Unlike in the past when Durand Cup finals attracted a full house, the absence of the Kolkata teams has gravely affected this edition in terms of spectators.

“We will go all out and play our usual football regardless of what the opposition does,” said Churchill coach Mario Soares.

His confidence stems from having in his ranks the two Nigerian strikers, Odafe Onyeka Okolie and Mboyo Iyomi, who together have broken the opposition defence on several occasions. Okolie will be the key player, given his current form and fitness. The striker has scored 10 goals so far — four against Hindustan Aeronautics Sports Club, five against Central Railway and one against Air India.

“We have a young squad while Mahindra is a mature side, but I will give a 50 per cent chance to my team,” said Soares.

Churchill’s only worry would be the absence of creative mid-fielder Chandam Singh. “But we are not crying over it and will give our best,” Soares added. Chandam’s two yellow cards has put him out of the final.

Poor run of form

Mahindra’s form has been questionable so far. But its coach Derrick Pereira is hopeful that the team will strike form in the final.

“I agree that we have struggled because our strikers are out of form, but we hope to do our best in the final,” said Pereira.

In the three matches here, Mahindra has managed to score just one goal in regulation time — and that too off a penalty taken by Yusuf Yakubu against Border Security Force. Besides, the side won its quarterfinal and semifinal matches through tie-breakers.

“Churchill is a good young side, but we are playing as a team and we will put up a tough fight tomorrow,” said Pereira.

Twice champion, Mahindra, however, will have its hands full if Okolie and Iyomi get going. The two move quickly and rattle the defence. It was evident in the semifinal against Air-India when Okolie helped Churchill rally twice before scoring the winning goal.

Pereira knows what the two Nigerians can do. “Containing them is the first goal. Then we will have to find ways to score goals, which unfortunately has not happened in the last three matches,” Pereira said.

Mahindra’s advantage is its captain and goalkeeper, Sandeep Nandi. The tall custodian has been doing a good job and it will be a challenge for Churchill to get past him.

The teams:

Churchill Brothers, Goa: Vinay Singh, Roberth Lalthlamuan, Govin, Thokchom Naoba Singh, Raju D., Eangalis Da Silva, Reisangmi Vashum, Odafe Onyeka Okolie, Mboyo Iyomi, Gourmangi Singh, Lalit Thapa, Villkoy D’Cruz, Bernardo Pires, Thangjam Singh, Joseph Daniel Louis, Khan Thang Paite, Firoz Sulaiman, Warun Deep, Arindam Bhattacharya.

Mahindra United, Mumbai: Sandeep Nandi, Sushant Mathew, Harpreet Singh, Yusuf Yakubu, N. P. Pradeep, K. A. Ajayan, Manjit Singh, Andrews Pomeyie Mensah, Ravanan Dharmaraj, Arata Izumi, Sunil Kumar, Mohammed Rafi, Sukhwinder Singh, Douhou Sey Djidja Pierre, Steven Dias, S. Roy Chowdhury, Noel Fernandes, N. Kalialaudeen, Gautam Debnath, Amit Nandi.

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