I-League: Churchill Bros open account, lodge protest after 1-1 draw against Kenkre FC

Panaji: Churchill Brothers FC opened their account in the I-League this season with a hard-fought 1-1 draw against Kenkre FC at the Cooperage in Mumbai on Thursday.
The hosts took an early lead through Azfar Noorani while Churchill equalised late in the game through Lalkhawpuimawia.
It was Churchill's first point in the league after picking two consecutive defeats at home to Rajasthan United FC and Sreenidi Deccan FC.
The two-time champions could have won more than a point if their goal in the 89th minute by Lalkhawpuimawia was counted, but the match referee K Ramdasan blew his whistle for a foul.
Churchill protested after the match and manager Danzie Ferrao submitted an official complaint to the match commissioner Elangovan T.
“It was a clear-cut goal, but the referee pulled a foul for our player when even on TV replays showed that it was a goal. This sort of treatment affects our team to move forward,” Danzie said in his letter to the match commissioner.
After their 2-3 defeat against Sreenidi, Churchill were livid that two penalty calls were not taken into consideration.
“A clear penalty in the first half when they kicked Kingslee Fernandes in the box. Fine, we accept and keep fighting. 95th minute the defender raises his hand to blatantly stop a goalscoring chance for an equaliser, but the referee calls it off.
“We accept that from now on we will be playing against 14 people but that won’t stop us from fighting back when everybody rules us out and is against us,” Churchill said in their post.
Against Kenkre FC on Thursday, Churchill played with just two foreigners, Tana and captain Momo Cisse.
Spain forward Manu Cordero suffered a hamstring injury in the first game and was ruled out for the first half of the league. Iranian midfielder Milad Parvar was also unavailable, along with Senegalese striker Abdoulaye Sane after he picked up a knock in the previous game against Rajasthan.
The game started in a flash as Kenkre took the lead in the sixth minute when Ranjeet Pandre found Azfar, who drifted inside the Churchill box from the left and finished neatly from an acute angle.
Churchill Brothers were comfortable with the ball. They enjoyed 62% ball possession but lacked sharpness upfront.
The former champions finally equalised seven minutes from time when Tana’s set piece was flicked by Cisse for Joseph Clemente, who then headed it to Lalkhawpuimawia to slot home the equaliser.