Churchill Brothers miss out chance to secure top spot after 1-1 draw with SC Bengaluru

Raia (Goa), Feb 3 (PTI) – Churchill Brothers missed a golden opportunity to claim the top spot in the I-League after being held to a 1-1 draw by Sporting Club Bengaluru on Monday.

Wayde Lekay’s ninth goal of the season had put Churchill ahead in the 61st minute, but debutant Clarence Fernandes restored parity for SC Bengaluru in the 73rd minute, earning his team their first away point in the league.

With this result, Namdhari FC remains at the top with 24 points from 12 matches, while Churchill Brothers trail closely with 23 points. The draw proved significant for SC Bengaluru, as they climbed off the bottom of the table for the first time in two months, now sitting at nine points. Delhi FC now finds itself at the bottom of the standings.

SC Bengaluru’s Strong Start Denied by Woodwork​

The visitors began the match aggressively and were unfortunate not to take an early lead, with the woodwork denying them twice.

In the 23rd minute, a corner from Saiyyad Umar found Clarence Fernandes, whose off-balance header led to a loose ball that Alex Sanchez struck on the half-volley, only to see it hit the top of the crossbar.

Four minutes later, Churchill Brothers’ goalkeeper Sayad Kadir made a crucial fingertip save to deny Salam Johnson Singh’s volley. From the resulting corner, SC Bengaluru captain Carlos Lomba picked out Shafeel PP in the box, whose header again struck the crossbar. Lomba himself had a close chance in added time of the first half, but his half-volley sailed just over the goal frame.

Churchill's Second-Half Surge and Equaliser Drama​

After a lackluster first half, Churchill’s head coach Dimitris Dimitriou made swift changes, bringing in new signing Rafiq Aminu and Colombian midfielder Sebastian Gutierrez, who was returning from injury. The substitutions made an immediate impact.

The breakthrough came in the 61st minute when Gutierrez played a brilliant outside-of-the-boot pass to Aminu on the overlap. The Ghanaian swiftly squared the ball across goal, where Lekay executed a clever back-heel finish into an empty net past SC Bengaluru’s goalkeeper Yuya Kuriyama.

However, SC Bengaluru refused to leave empty-handed. In the 73rd minute, they capitalized on a free-kick from near the touchline. Lomba delivered a knee-height ball into the box, where Clarence Fernandes—formerly of Churchill Brothers—connected perfectly with his left foot, smashing the ball past Kadir to level the game.

Despite both teams pushing for a winner in the final minutes, neither could break the deadlock, resulting in a hard-fought draw.

This result marks a crucial step forward for SC Bengaluru, who ended their streak of six consecutive away defeats, while Churchill Brothers will rue the missed chance to claim the top spot in the league.