I-League: Fingers crossed as Churchill Bros resume title charge after 20-day break

Panaji: It’s been 20 days since

Churchill Brothers FC

last played a competitive game, a convincing 3-0 win against local challengers Dempo SC in the

Goan derby

.
That win provided enough indications to suggest that Churchill would be challenging for the

I-League title

. But as they resume their campaign after a long break with a home clash against

Namdhari FC

at Raia on Wednesday, coach

Dimitris Dimitriou

has reasons to be worried.
It's not the opposition, though; it’s his own team.
“Before the break, we were in good shape, in good form, and the 20 days break without games is worrying me. The players took their holidays and have been working for the last 12 days. Not only us, I believe all coaches across the world are worrying about the form of their team for the first one or two games, after Christmas and New Year. I feel we will overcome this. We have worked very, very hard,” said Dimitris.

For Churchill’s star striker

Wayde Lekay

, the break is not a distraction. Among the leading scorers in the league with five strikes, the South African said the break is not going to stop them from chasing their target.
“The break does take a little bit of a toll on you and your rhythm, but we have had a long pre-season and you don't lose all your fitness within that couple of days,” said Lekay. “We've obviously still been training. I think it's just a matter of mindset at the end of the day.”
Churchill are on top of the I-League ladder with 13 points from their first six matches and will hope for a good start in the new year.
“It’s going to be a very, very hard clash against Namdhari. I don’t want to sound like I am saying this before every game but it’s going to be extremely difficult because we are coming from the break and we don't know how we are going to behave,” said Dimitris.
Fifth-placed Namdhari are not among the top teams in the competition but after a difficult start, coach Harpreet Singh has steadied the ship. After picking up just a point from their first three games, the Punjab side have picked up seven from the next three, remaining unbeaten.
“The performance in the last three games (two wins and a draw) has been good. The boys are now motivated, confident, though we know Churchill is a tough opponent, particularly when they are playing at home,” said Harpreet.