Kolkata: Churchill Brothers stand on the brink of winning their second I-League title after a clincal 2-0 victory over Mohun Bagan here on Sunday.
Gabonese recruit Henry Antchouet scored both the goals (19th, 35th) as the Goans’ resolute defence denied the local giants any chance to come back in the second half.
The win took Churchill Brothers (51) eight points clear of the second-placed team and they now need a draw from their remaining two matches (Air India and Mohun Bagan) to win the title for the second time after their triumph in 2008-09.
East Bengal and Pune FC, both on 43 points, lie in second and third places on goal difference as they have three games each to play.
Churchill (31) have a healthy goal difference compared to East Bengal (21) and Pune (19) and a point would be enough for the Goans to seal their sixth I-League title.
Churchill Brothers did not have any problem up front with Henry and Sunil Chhetri combining well.
Henry gave them the lead from a square pass off Chhetri, while he completed his second from a solo run.
Bagan’s prolific striking duo of Odafa Okolie and Tolgay Ozbey had an off day. A frustrated Odafa was also unlucky with his curling leftfooter hitting the bar in the first half.
In the other match of the day, Sporting Clube de Goa beat United Sikkim 3-0 in Gangtok to move to sixth in the points table. (PTI)