Churchill Brothers held on gamely to their first half goal when they got the better of fighting Shillong Lajong by a solitary goal win to close the gap at the top in the 20th round of the I-League, played at Nehru stadium, Fatorda, Margao.
The I-League kicks-off on November 24 at the Nehru stadium in Goa, with champions Dempo Sports Club taking on promoted Salgoacar in a local derby.
The All India Football Federation (AIFF) president Praful Patel took a veiled dig at Goan clubs on Tuesday for not having the required "bandwidth" to continue in the revamped top tier league as they are "not investing" in football while providing excuses.
The I-League match between Mohun Bagan and Churchill Brothers, scheduled to be held at Yuba Bharati Krirangan in Salt Lake on Thursday, has been postponed due to security concerns.
Defending champions Minerva Punjab FC forfeited their I-League match against Real Kashmir FC in Srinagar after the All India Football Federation (AIFF) turned down their request to relocate the fixture in the aftermath of the Pulwama terror attacks.
A Lebanese footballer, playing till very recently for I-League club Churchill Brothers, has been implicated in the match-fixing scandal that has rocked the west Asian nation, and the Lebanese FA has informed the AIFF about sanctions imposed on the footballer. Of the 24 players implicated, Akram Moghrabi, who had signed for the Goan club last July on a one-year deal, is one of them.
Dempo Sports Club scored an emphatic 3-1 win over bottom placed Sporting Clube de Goa to regain the top spot in the 11th round I-League match at the Nehru Stadium, Margao, on Sunday.
Injury time goal by substitute Peter Carvalho helped defending champions Dempo to come from behind and hold ONGC to a 1-1 draw in the 18th round of the I-League played at Duler stadium, Mapusa, on Sunday.
Images: Mohun Bagan get massive reception.
Pailan Arrows took Sporting Clube de Goa by surprise, scoring a solitary goal victory in a seventh round I-League match, at the Nehru stadium, in Fatorda, Goa, on Friday. Narayan Das scored the only goal of the match in the second session.
Ending speculation around the merger of Indian Super League with I-League, the All India Football Federation on Tuesday virtually recognised ISL as the country's premier league as per a new roadmap, which will have three more seven-month leagues in a hierarchical system from 2017 onwards.
Sporting Clube de Goa put up a gritty performance to hold Federation Cup champions East Bengal to a goalless draw in their opening encounter of the I-League football tournament at Nehru Stadium, Fatorda.
Runners-up for the last two years, East Bengal ended their I-League campaign on a miserable note, going down to Shillong Lajong FC by a solitary goal at the Kalyani Stadium on Sunday.
A brilliant goal from Akram Moghrabi in injury time helped Churchill Brothers earn full points against hosts Shillong Lajong in their round seven match of the I-League at the JN Sports Complex in Shillong on Saturday.
Victory continued to elude last year's runners-up Mohun Bagan. The Kolkata giants went down 1-2 to JCT in a floodlit Round 2 I-League match at Yuba Bharati Krirangan in Kolkata on Thursday.
Ryuji Sueoka scored a brace of goals as Dempo Sports Club laboured to a 2-1 win over Churchill Brothers Sports Club in the opening match of the I-League at the Nehru Stadium, Fatorda, on Saturday.
The AFC team, who were on a two days visit to Goa, were satisfied with the infrastructure and administrative set up of all the three Goan I-League clubs, as part of the assessment criteria for classification as professional clubs.
In huge development in the I-League, India captain and striker Sunil Chhetri was snapped up by debutants JSW Sports on Friday.
Pailan Arrows floored HAL Bangalore 2-1 to ensure second successive victory in an I-League encounter at the Bangalore Football Stadium on Saturday.
Title aspirants Churchill Brothers scored a convincing 3-1 victory over East Bengal in an ONGC I-league match at Nehru stadium in Margao on Sunday.
Minerva Punjab FC will take on Indian Super League side Jamshedpur FC on April 2 in the inaugural Super Cup football tournament which begins in Bhubaneswar on March 31.
Twelve out of the 14 I-League clubs on Tuesday refused to sign AFC club licensing guidelines unless the All India Football Federation makes I-League a "separate entity".
Chennai City FC, whom Real Kashmir had beaten twice this season, are leading the table with 30 points from 14 matches.
East Bengal rode on Chidi Edeh's first-half strike and some moments of luck to beat Pune FC 1-0 in a Round Three I-League fixture, in Kolkata, on Monday.
Pune FC kept their winning run intact with a 2-0 verdict against Shillong Lajong FC to annex the Under-20 I-League title, their first-ever at any level since the club was established in 2007.
Churchill Brothers scored their maiden win of the season when they came back from behind to down 10-man Bengaluru FC 2-1 in the fifth round of the hero I-League match, in Vasco, on Friday.
"In fact, we are in negotiation with stakeholders including ISL franchisees on the issue," Dhar told reporters at the 11th Convocation of Tata Football Academy (TFA) in Jamshedpur.
Salgoacar SC held Shillong Lajong FC to a goalless draw in their last I-League match at the J N Stadium in Shillong on Friday. It was Shillong Lajong who dominated the game in the first half, but their forwards failed to convert as many as three easy opportunities that came their way.
Pailan Arrows defeated Chirag United Kerala 3-0 to register their first win in the I-League.
Pune FC rode on Mandjou Keita's conversion from the spot and a late strike from Subhash Singh to beat defending champions Salgaocar SC 2-0 in an I-League match.
Uttam Singh is turning out to be Air-India's trump card in the ongoing I-League a la Stoke City's midfielder Rory Delap.
McDowell Mohun Bagan routed Shillong Lajong 6-1 during the I-League encounter at the Yuba Bharati Krinangan, in Kolkata, on Tuesday.
Defending champions Dempo will be looking to garner full points when they take on Churchill Brothers in the opening match of the I-League at the Nehru Stadium in Fatorda, Goa on Saturday.
Pailan Arrows stays 'luckless.' Despite dominating for most part of the match and hitting the cross-piece twice, they went down to Prayag United 2-1 in a crucial I-League match at the Salt Lake Stadium, in Kolkata, on Thursday.
Mohun Bagan squandered their lead in the last 13 minutes to settle for a 2-2 draw against leaders Dempo, something that shattered their I-League hopes after the 22nd round fixture at the Yuba Bharati Krirangan in Kolkata on Sunday.
North East's only Football Club in the prestigious I-League, the Shillong Lajong FC, on Monday, signed national mid-fielder Renedy Singh ahead of their first home encounter against Churchill on Wednesday.
The I-League 2023-24 will be organised with 13 participating clubs on a home-and-away double round-robin basis for a total of 156 matches in the season.
With the relegation battle over, the inaugural ONGC I-League is poised for a thrilling finale, as Goa teams Dempo Sports Club and Churchill Brothers play the final round of championship at two different venues on February 23, hoping to emerge India's new football powerhouse.
Salgaocar Sports Club overcame stiff second half resistance from Prayag United SC, to score a solitary goal victory in the 19th round I League match, at the Nehru Stadium, Fatorda, Goa on Monday.
Kingfisher East Bengal and McDowells Mohun Bagan played out a 1-1 draw in the 19th round I-League clash played at the Yuba Bharati Krinangan, in Kolkata on Saturday.
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