GOA: In what will be a battle pitting the 12th Hero I-League’s top goal scorers Willis Plaza and Jobby Justin against each other, Goa’s Churchill Brothers FC take on Kolkata’s Quess East Bengal (QEB) on Thursday, December 20, 2018, at the Tilak Maidan in Vasco Da Gama, Goa. The game kicks off at 5 PM IST.
Trinidadian Plaza has scored seven times for Churchill this season to be on top of the goal-scorers chart, while QEB’s Justin is second with five goals to his name.
The two-time former champions have 13 points from eight games so far while QEB have 12 from seven and are fourth and sixth on the points table respectively.A win on Thursday is destined to take either of them into second place and within touching distance of league leaders Chennai City, who have 18 points from eight completed games.
The visitors will be the more confident side going into the game having beaten arch-rivals Mohun Bagan in their previous game, while the hosts suffered their first defeat of the season in their last encounter against Manipur’s Neroca FC.Churchill have otherwise been fluent over the past month or so and have been prolific at the Tilak Maidan, scoring eight goals in the two games there so far. Besides, Willis Plaza, Gambian winger Dawda Cessay, midfielder Khalid Aucho and right winger Israel Gurung have put in very good performances.
Their defence has let in eight goals and Romanian coach Petra Gigiu will be hoping the backline does not suffer more given injuries.
He was circumspect on the prospects ahead of the game, revealing, “East Bengal is a very strong team and at the same time some of our players will be absent like Hussien Eldor and Wayne Vaz. We hope to play well and score one goal more than the opponents.”
For the ‘Red and Gold’ brigade, it should be all about maintaining the momentum. The derby win is sure to boost the confidence of the side but Spanish coach Alejandro Menendez Garcia will have his task cut out to ensure players are in full flow after the high of a win against arch-rivals Mohun Bagan.QEB have scored 14 times in their seven games so far. (AIFF)
