I-League 2017/18: Churchill Brothers vs Kingfisher East Bengal, Player Ratings

Churchill Brothers faced off against Hero I-League table toppers East Bengal at the Tilak Maidan Stadium in Vasco, Goa on Monday.

This fixture marked the clash of the top side in the league against the bottom side as Churchill Brothers aimed to get their season on track. East Bengal lead the standings with 17 points from eight matches whereas Churchill Brothers were yet to open their account in the league.

However, the match presented a different picture. Churchill Brothers managed to register their first point of the season as they held the Kolkata-based outfit to a 1-1 draw. The Goan side's new signing Mechac Koffi equalized in the 75th minute with a sublime finish after Joby Justin had put East Bengal ahead in the 26th minute. The Red and Golds, though, are still perched on the top of the table.

Here are the player ratings:

Churchill Brothers

James Kithan (6.5/10) - The Churchill keeper had a tough night between the sticks as he had to deal with the attacking threat of the Kolkata giants. Katsumi Yusa, Joby Justin and Mahmoud Al-Amna were barraging the Churchill goal.

Jovel Martins (6/10) - The new signing on loan from FC Goa had a busy debut tonight as he had the tough job of marking pacey winger Laldanmawia Ralte. He was called into action in the defence throughout the match and could not really go forward with the ball.

Monday Osagie (7/10) - The centre-back was perhaps the only defender for Churchill on the field who did well against the rampaging East Bengal attack. He used his physicality well during the setpieces and made a couple of crucial clearances.

Suraj Singh (6/10) - Churchill skipper had a poor showing. He was the culprit for the first goal conceded by the Goans when Justin got the better of him. The captain's second-half performance was better as he helped his team from conceding any further goals.

Wayne Vaz (6.5/10) - Another new signing for the Goan side, on loan from ISL side FC Pune City, Vaz was kept busy throughout the duration of the match with Yusa running rounds around him on the flanks. He did make a couple of overlapping runs but his crossing wasn't up to the mark.

PM Britto (6.5/10) - The right winger tried his best to get past the strong East Bengal defence but struggled against Salam Singh who got the better of him on most occasions.

Kalu Ogba (7/10) - The midfielder was struggling to get going as the entire Churchill midfield was dominated by the East Bengal midfield. Ogba had a couple of efforts at the East Bengal goal but could not threaten Barreto.

Peter Omoduemuke (7/10) - The midfielder was responsible for spreading out the play from the centre and was successful on few occasions. He had a good effort on the East Bengal goal but his volley went just wide.

Nicholas Fernandes (8/10) - Fernandes was the brightest spark for the Goan side on the pitch. He kept pressing on the left flank with good movement and kept the East Bengal right-back Chullova alert at all times.

Uttam Rai (7/10) - The Churchill attacker was quite active with his off the ball movement and persistence but struggled to get past the strong East Bengal centre-back pairing of Ferreria and Mondal.

Mechac Koffi (8.5/10) - The big Ivorian striker had a dream debut for Churchill Brothers as he managed to get his name on the scoresheet. Koffi scored a superb goal, curling the ball past Barreto, who had no chance of stopping the effort. He was quiet for the most part of the match but performed when it counted the most, thereby winning the 'Hero of the Match' on his I-League debut.

Substitutes:

Pawan Kumar (5/10) - The young loanee from ISL franchise FC Pune City was brought on for the final 15 minutes and replaced Kalu Ogba in the midfield.

Israil Gurung (NA) - The experienced man came on in the final minutes of the match as he replaced PM Britton in the midfield.

Kingfisher East Bengal

Luis Barreto (6.5/10) - The East Bengal custodian had a quiet night as he wasn't called into action on many occasions by the Churchill attack. Perhaps this lack of action proved his undoing as Koffi beat him with a curling effort to equalize the scores.

Prakash Sarkar (4/10) - The young right-back was taken off by Khalid Jamil before the twenty-minute mark in an early substitution. It is rather unfortunate for the youngsters as coaches in the I-League continue to exploit the U-22 rule.

Arnab Mondal (7.5/10) - The East Bengal skipper was a strong presence in the defence as he kept the Churchill striker Uttam Rai in check. Mondal made some crucial interceptions and clearances for the table-toppers as they maintained the clean sheet.

Eduardo Ferreira (7/10) - Arnab Mondal's partner in the East Bengal defence played the role of a no-nonsense stopper as he kept the Churchill attacking efforts at bay.

Salam Ranjan Singh (7.5/10) - The lanky left-back was strong in his tackles and in the air winning a lot of headers for the Kolkata side. Salam was active on the left wing, transitioning smoothly between attack and defence as and when required by the team.

Armand Bazzoau (7/10) - The tough-tackling midfielder of the East Bengal side was all over the midfield as he made his presence felt. He broke up a lot of Churchill plays in the midfield and played the first line of defence for the Kolkata side.

Laldanmawia Ralte (7.5/10) - Ralte provided the assist for the first goal with a perfectly placed cross for Justin to head into the Churchill goal. He was constantly on the move on the right flank and had a couple of efforts on the goal.

Mohammed Rafique (7/10) - India international Rafique played the role of second fiddle to the midfield duo of Katsumi Yusa and Al-Amna. Rafique moved the ball around well and was responsible for kickstarting many attacks for the away side.

Mahmoud Al Amna (7.5/10) - The former Aizawl FC man played the perfect partner to Katsumi Yusa in the midfield as he made some good runs through the Churchill defence. Al-Amna had a couple of efforts on the goal as well.

Katsumi Yusa (8/10) - The Japanese midfield maestro was at his best, creating chance after chance for East Bengal. He was constantly on the move as he searched for gaps in the Churchill defence.

Joby Justin (8.5/10) - The young forward from Kerala was preferred ahead of the struggling Wilis Plaza in the attack. He repaid the coach's faith on him when he scored the first goal and threatened with his movement in the Churchill box throughout the match.

Substitutes:

Lalramchullova (6.5/10) - The right-back was brought on the pitch early on in the match replacing Prakash Sarkar. Lalramchullova was kept busy throughout the match as he had to deal with the attacking threat of the Goan winger Nicholas Fernandes.

Cavin Lobo (5/10) - The Goan midfielder was put on for the final 10 minutes but he could not really affect the proceedings.

Willis Plaza (5/10) - The Trinidadian forward came on in the 83rd minute as Jamil played his looked for a late winner. However, Plaza did not manage to have even one shot on goal.

Edited by Sagnik Kundu