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I-League Comment: 2010 Hasn't Been Kind To Three Goan Clubs
It hasn't been a happy new year for Goan trio..
25-Jan-2010 10:30:00 PM
By Amoy Ghoshal
Clubs from Goa have won the I-League (formerly National League) in the last three seasons. This term the region has the maximum number (four) of clubs while Dempo currently sit at the top of the table and are without a doubt one of the strong title contenders. However all is not well for Goa as three of their clubs are yet to win this year with one of them losing momentum in the title race while the other two occupying the bottom two places. Here we analyse the performances of those three clubs in 2010 and look ahead to their coming matches.
Churchill Brothers
The defending champions were on top of the table at the end of 2009 but have struggled in the new year as they have only picked up two points in three matches which has seen them drop to fifth place. Churchill began the second phase with a creditable 2-2 draw away at Mohun Bagan but that was followed by a disappointing goalless stalemate against Sporting and then last week they went down 2-3 against East Bengal to suffer their first defeat of the season. That loss also showed how heavily the Goan giants depend on skipper Odafa as they looked less impressive in attack and could have lost by a bigger margin.
They are now four points behind leaders Dempo so anything less than six points from their next two matches could leave Carlos Roberto Pareira’s team further behind the top. They face Lajong next at Shillong which is not an easy game by any means as the north eastern side has already beaten Churchill this season in the Federation Cup and they are always difficult to beat at home. Churchill’s round 13 game is against fellow Goan club Salgaocar, who have not lost a Goan derby this season. So even though, the champions are favourites for those games, they must at their best to go into the break on a high.
Salgaocar
The former champions are the only team that has lost all three of their matches in the second phase. Their first outing of 2010 was at the Cooperage against Mumbai FC, which they dominated for long periods but were unable to take their chances and conceded two silly goals to eventually lose the game 1-2. Salgaocar then took on Pune at home but came up with a disappointing performance and suffered a 1-3 defeat. Their match against Air India was virtually a six pointer but Tim Hankinson’s side couldn’t turn things around as the Airmen scored a narrow 2-1 victory.
That result dropped the Goan side to the relegation zone for the first time this season and now they are very much under pressure. They have three home matches coming up but the first of those two are against title contenders – Mohun Bagan and Churchill. Even a point from those two matches will be a bonus but their real test will be the game against Viva Kerala, who are also in the fight for survival, so it will be a must win.
Sporting Clube de Goa
Sporting are still the only team without a win this season and their form in 2010 doesn’t suggest that the elusive victory will come anytime soon. They ended 2009 in 13th position but after picking up just one point in their last three matches, Vishwas Gaonkar’s team is currently rock bottom. It could have been all so different if they could have held on to their one goal lead against Mahindra in round nine. But the Mumbai side scored two late goals to take all three points which was surely a huge psychological blow for Sporting. However they came up with another decent performance in the goalless Goan derby against champions Churchill and could have taken all three points from that game. But that was followed by an insipid performance in the 1-3 defeat against Dempo which wasted all the good work done in their first two matches of the new year.
Sporting are only three points behind 12th placed Viva Kerala and don’t face any team from the top six in their next three matches. First they travel to struggling JCT, then they host East Bengal who have won just twice on their travels and then just before the I-League takes a break the ‘Flaming Oranje’ entertain Air India in a rearranged fixture. So Sporting, who have lost half of their games, will fancy themselves to pick up some points from those games and stay close to their nearest rivals.
Churchill Brothers
The defending champions were on top of the table at the end of 2009 but have struggled in the new year as they have only picked up two points in three matches which has seen them drop to fifth place. Churchill began the second phase with a creditable 2-2 draw away at Mohun Bagan but that was followed by a disappointing goalless stalemate against Sporting and then last week they went down 2-3 against East Bengal to suffer their first defeat of the season. That loss also showed how heavily the Goan giants depend on skipper Odafa as they looked less impressive in attack and could have lost by a bigger margin.
They are now four points behind leaders Dempo so anything less than six points from their next two matches could leave Carlos Roberto Pareira’s team further behind the top. They face Lajong next at Shillong which is not an easy game by any means as the north eastern side has already beaten Churchill this season in the Federation Cup and they are always difficult to beat at home. Churchill’s round 13 game is against fellow Goan club Salgaocar, who have not lost a Goan derby this season. So even though, the champions are favourites for those games, they must at their best to go into the break on a high.
Salgaocar
The former champions are the only team that has lost all three of their matches in the second phase. Their first outing of 2010 was at the Cooperage against Mumbai FC, which they dominated for long periods but were unable to take their chances and conceded two silly goals to eventually lose the game 1-2. Salgaocar then took on Pune at home but came up with a disappointing performance and suffered a 1-3 defeat. Their match against Air India was virtually a six pointer but Tim Hankinson’s side couldn’t turn things around as the Airmen scored a narrow 2-1 victory.
That result dropped the Goan side to the relegation zone for the first time this season and now they are very much under pressure. They have three home matches coming up but the first of those two are against title contenders – Mohun Bagan and Churchill. Even a point from those two matches will be a bonus but their real test will be the game against Viva Kerala, who are also in the fight for survival, so it will be a must win.
Sporting Clube de Goa
Sporting are still the only team without a win this season and their form in 2010 doesn’t suggest that the elusive victory will come anytime soon. They ended 2009 in 13th position but after picking up just one point in their last three matches, Vishwas Gaonkar’s team is currently rock bottom. It could have been all so different if they could have held on to their one goal lead against Mahindra in round nine. But the Mumbai side scored two late goals to take all three points which was surely a huge psychological blow for Sporting. However they came up with another decent performance in the goalless Goan derby against champions Churchill and could have taken all three points from that game. But that was followed by an insipid performance in the 1-3 defeat against Dempo which wasted all the good work done in their first two matches of the new year.
Sporting are only three points behind 12th placed Viva Kerala and don’t face any team from the top six in their next three matches. First they travel to struggling JCT, then they host East Bengal who have won just twice on their travels and then just before the I-League takes a break the ‘Flaming Oranje’ entertain Air India in a rearranged fixture. So Sporting, who have lost half of their games, will fancy themselves to pick up some points from those games and stay close to their nearest rivals.
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