Sporting Clube de Goa take on Churchill Brothers

“We are totally focused on taking 3 points against Churchill. No previous matches or future games are in the players’ minds at the moment,” stated Sporting Clube de Goa Coach Oscar Bruzon, as his team get set to take on Churchill Brothers Sports Club in the Aiff’s I-League at PJN stadium, Fatorda on Sunday. The kick off is 5pm

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This high profile match, which has gained a lot of attention in recent years for the number of goals and excitement, is not being televised.

Churchill Brothers are the reigning I-League champions, while Sporting Goa is the current Goa Pro League Champions and Goa Super Cup winners.

The two teams last met in January’s Federation Cup final, which Churchill Brothers won and this adds an extra sprinkle of curiosity for the fans of both teams of how these 90 minutes will pan out.Sporting Goa has just arrived back from Shillong where they defeated Rangdajied United 2-1, which was their first victory since the I-League restarted.

Keeping with their motto of “Growing Goa’s Game”, Sporting Clube de Goa handed Velito D’Cruz his first start for the club after making a handful of cameo appearances from the bench this season.Another local boy who did not disappoint was goalkeeper Melroy Fernandes in only his third outing for the Flaming Oranje. He is aiming to keep a clean sheet against his former employer.

Another former Churchill Brothers player who is hoping to impress at the other end of the field is Sporting Goa’s top goal scorer Boima Jerry Karpeh.The Flaming Oranje are missing, Mohan Raj, Jovel Martins, Dawson Fernandes and Victorino Fernandes for the game through injury, but have ample ammunition in their ranks for the battle.

Churchill has just returned from Singapore after playing in the AFC Cup and will have to recover quickly from their travels as every game is important to avoid relegation.

Sporting Goa is currently third in the standings, with 32 points from twenty one games, while Churchill is languishing in 12^th spot with 18 points from nineteen games.