By IANS
New Delhi : It will be a merry making for the Goan clubs as leaders Dempo and third-placed Churchill Brothers went into the four-day Christmas break with comfortable wins in the seventh round of the I-League football tournament, which concluded Sunday.
Dempo with five wins and two draws from seven matches are sitting at top of the table with 17 points, followed by JCT Phagwara, who with four wins and three draws with 15 points. Churchill Brothers are third with four wins, one draw and two losses and have 13 points.
Dempo registered 4-1 away win over Mumbai’s Air India while Churchill Brothers thrashed new comers Viva Kerala 5-0 at home in their respective seventh league matches.
JCT coach Sukhwinder Singh has said that his team is in the title race and with a 4-2 win at home against Sporting Clube de Goa it seems that the Punjab team is very much on the track.
The picture is not so rosy for the Kolkata giants, Mohun Bagan and East Bengal, at the sixth and the seventh spot respectively in the 10-team league.
Mohun Bagan with their 5-4 win against Salgaocar in a thrilling match in Margao, have shown signs of recovery with their star strikers Bhaichung Bhutia and Brazilian Jose Ramires Baretto finding the net.
But the trouble seems to continue for Federation Cup champions East Bengal, who lost 1-2 away to Mahindra United in the seventh round. East Bengal have managed just two wins and the losses are just double. Barring their Brazilian striker Edmilson Marques, who is the second highest scorer in the league so far with seven goals. None of the other strikers of the Red and Gold brigade of Maidan have made a mark so far.
Both the teams have a tougher assignment in the next round, when they face each other in the eighth round derby clash at home. The derby, called mother of clashes in Indian football, is now tipped to direct the future of the clubs in the league.
Meanwhile, former champions Mahindra United placed fourth with two wins, four draws and one loss have 10 points.
And new comers Viva Kerala, formed three years back, have surprised everyone with their spirited form and now are placed fifth with nine points. The team from down South have also stunned former champions Kolkata giants Mohun Bagan and Salgaocar. Despite their thrashing at the hands of Churchill Brothers, it seems they still have a bright prospect ahead in the league.
It won’t be a Merry Christmas for Salgaocar and Sporting Clube de Goa as they bottom two teams in the league and will have tough times ahead.
After the seventh round, Churchill Brothers’ Odafe Onyeka Okolie is the top scorer with eight goals and is followed by Brazilians Eduardo da Silva Escobar (JCT) and Edmilson Marques (East Bengal) jointly in the second place with seven goals.