AFC Cup: Churchill Brothers face Kitchee in do or die match

Churchill Brothers SC are on the verge of regaining the I-League title, but at the continental level they face Kitchee SC from Hongkong tomorrow in their Group E Round 5 match of the AFC Cup at the Shri Shiv Chhatrapati Sports Complex in Pune. The Red Machines have four points from as many matches and trail Kitchee by two points, who are second behind Semen Padang on 10 points.

At the pre-match press conference Churchill Brothers head coach Willy Moraes said, "We do have alot of injuries i.e. Beto, Tomba Singh, Bikramjit Singh and Felix D'Souza. But this team is raring to go and we are confident of gaining three points from tomorrows match."

"Yes, we did lose our previous game to Kitchee however this is a different ball game since the kick off is at 3pm and our team has got better since the last match," Willy Moraes added.

An in-form India captain Sunil Chhetri said, "We have four points and have a serious chance of qualifying for the next stage if we win the match vs Kitchee SC. We are still struggling with injuries, but the AFC Cup is very important to us, players getting injured is part of the game."

Speaking about the pitch Sunil stated, "The pitch is great and we are extremely happy with the support that we have got here in Pune."

"I'm very happy to be in this team, we have an outstanding unit out here, this team stands united and life has been pretty good at Churchill Brothers," Sunil added.

Meanwhile Kitchee SC after two wins at the start suffered two losses against group leaders Semen Padang of Indonesia, which has given the chance to Churchill Brothers and even Warrior FC of Singapore to move past them into second spot and qualify for the pre-quarterfinals.

Kitchee's Spanish head coach Josep Gombau Balague said, "Tomorrow is a very important match, the difference between Churchill Brothers and Kitchee is only two points. We will try to play are normal passing game."

"Churchill is a team that is doing well and are very strong. Even if we get a point here, if we win the next match we can qualify for the next stage," Josep Gombau added.

Kick-off tomorrow at the Shri Shiv Chhatrapati Sports Complex in Pune is at 3pm.

VIDEO: AFC Cup - Kitchee 3-0 Churchill Brothers highlights

Last week Kitchee SC from Hongkong won their home encounter against I-League side Churchill Brothers SC 3-0 in the AFC Cup. Here a local Hongkong match report.

AFC Cup: Kitchee win 3-0 against Churchill Brothers

Hongkong side Kitchee SC beat I-League team Churchill Brothers SC in the opening Group E match of the 2013 AFC Cup group stage at the Mong Kok Stadium in Hong Kong. Kitchee took the lead through their left back Chu Siu Kei, while Jorge Tarres scored a brace to round off the scoring.

Churchill Brothers Head Coach Mariano Dias decided to start with Sunil Chhetri and Henri Antchouet upfront, with Lenny Rodrigues and Bikramjit Singh controlling the midfield and with captain Dharmaraj Ravanan and Lamine Tamba at the heart of defence.

In the 28th minute Chu Siu Kei scored from a header from a well placed cross from the left by Yang Huang with the home side doubling their lead in the 31st minute, when Jorge Tarres beat the offside trap and made no mistake in placing the ball past Sandip Nandy. Steven Dias and Sunil Chhetri tried their luck just before the half time whistle, but were thwarted by an alert Wang Zhenpeng.

Churchill Brothers came out stronger in the second half, substitute T. Bineesh Balan injected some much needed pace into the midfield. Yang Huang was sent off in the fifty sixth minute after his second yellow card. Some good defensive play and the woodwork came to Kitchee's rescue to prevent Chhetri, Henri and Bineesh from scoring a much deserved goal for the Goan outfit.

Kitchee SC put the tie to rest in the 66th minute when Jorge Tarres headed home a well placed freekick to get his second of the night. The final chance of the match fell to Amandeep Singh, however his shot from 12 yards out was off target.

Churchill Brothers play their next AFC Cup match in Pune on March 12 againat Semen Padang of Indonesia.


Churchill Brothers SC
42-Sandip Nandy - 12-Denzil Franco, 13-Dharmaraj Ravanan [C], 46-Lamine Tamba, 26-Yumnam Raju Mangang - 23-Steven Benedic Dias, 24-Lenny Rodrigues, 28-Bikramjit Singh, 20-W. Tomba Singh - 47-Sunil Chhetri, 9-Henry Arnaud Antchouet Rebienot

AFC Cup: Churchill Brothers await tough opener in Hongkong

Goan I-League side Churchill Brothers play their opening AFC Cup Group E match tomorrow evening at Hong Kong's Mongkok Stadium against local side Kitchee SC. And the Red Machines know that they have a tough task ahead of them.

Head Coach Mariano Dias said at the press conference, "Kitchee SC is the home team, they are well organised and they do have a good side that includes four good foreigners. We are doing well in our domestic league and I'm hoping that our boys out up a good show and get all three points from the match."

But Mariano Dias will only be able to field two of his foreigners in new signing Lamine Tamba and Henry Arnaud Antchouet Rebienot, while Brazilian Roberto Mendes Silva is nursing an injury while Belal Arezou from Afghanistan had visa problems as well as commitments with his national team.


Meanwhile India captain and new on loan signing Sunil Chhetri reiterated what his coach said by saying, "Kitchee are a good side, just watched their match on the 24th and heard about the team through newspaper reports. We are doing great in the domestic league and hope to bring that same form into the AFC Cup, though we will be missing two infuencial players in Beto and Balal Arezou."

"I'm a new member of the squad and hope to gel quickly with the team," Chhetri added.

An away tie is always difficult, but Churchill Brothers have shown away in the I-League that they are a quality side, only now one will have to see if the changes amongst the foreigners and the addition of Chhetri has not disturbed the balance in the squad.

AFC Cup: Churchill Brothers name squad for opening match

I-League side Churchill Brothers SC, who replaced champions Dempo SC in the tournament, have named their 18 players squad for their opening AFC Cup match against Kitchee SC from Hongkong. The Red Machines play their opening Group E match on Tuesday, February 27 evening at the Mongkok Stadium in Hong Kong.

The Goans would be missing Brazilian Roberto Mendes Silva, but welcome back four India players – Sandip Nandy, Denzil Franco, Lenny Rodrigues and Sunil Chhetri – who have been released by national coach Wim Koevermans for the match.


Churchill Brothers SC

Goalkeepers
Sandip Nandy, Felix D'Souza

Defenders
Denzil Franco, Yumnam Raju Mangang, Sudhakaran Naveen Kumar, Dharmaraj Ravanan, Lamine Tamba, Thangjam Saran Singh

Midfielders
Steven Benedic Dias, Lenny Rodrigues, Bikramjit Singh, Jaison Vales, Sanjay Balmachu, W. Tomba Singh, Amandeep Singh

Forwards
Sunil Chhetri, Henry Arnaud Antchouet Rebienot, T. Bineesh Balan

Officials
Mariano Dias (Head Coach), Danzie Ferrao (Manager), Anup Kumar Yadav (Physio), Watson Fernandes (Media Manager)

AFC Under-19 Women's Cup: India to host qualifying group

The official draw for the AFC U-19 Women's Championship 2013 Qualifying Rounds 1 and 2 were conducted at AFC House in Kuala Lumpur today.

In the first round there are 12 participating nations. The eight participating Member Associations in the Central, South and West regions were drawn into two groups of four teams each, while the East/ASEAN zones already consist of Chinese Taipei, Hong Kong, Myanmar and the Philippines.

Group A would be host by India besides whom Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan and Bangladesh make-up the group. Group B consists of Jordan, Iran, Tajikistan and Palestine with Jordan playing hosts for this group with both the qualifying groups set to be played between October 19 to 27, 2012.

Each group shall play a one-round league, where each team in the group shall play one match against every other team and the top two teams from each group (total six teams) will proceed to Qualifying Round 2 which will be held in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam between December 1-9, 2012. For Round 2, seventh-ranked Thailand have been drawn into Group A while Vietnam, ranked sixth, into Group B.


THE GROUPINGS

ROUND 1
Group A: India, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Bangladesh
Group B: Jordan, Iran, Tajikistan, Palestine
Group C: Chinese Taipei, Hong Kong, Myanmar, Philippines

ROUND 2
Group A: Thailand, Team Ranked 4, Team Ranked 5, Team Ranked 8
Group B: Vietnam, Team Ranked 3, Team Ranked 6, Team Ranked 7

VIDEO: One of the best Own Goals ever!

A scene from a league match in Hongkong. Festus Baise of Sun Hei vs Citizen AA back heels the ball into his own goal in such beautiful fashion that he would make every striker proud of such a goal. Maybe the best own goal I have seen in my life. A must watch!

Nicky Butt: Former Man U Star in Hongkong?

Hongkong's South China could soon have a prominent new player amongst their ranks in former Manchester United star and England international Nicky Butt. 35 year old Butt retired at the end of last season after helping Newcastle United gain promotion back to the Premiership, a decision which for him was final then. But now he would like a final challenge which Hongkong first division club South China offers him.

Butt had since retiring offers from Premier League and Championship clubs, but he turned all those offers down as he wasn't really interested in him. Butt is currently in Hongkong to have a look at South China, the local league, the city and is thinking of bringing his family with him, if he decides to sign for South China.

"This is what I was looking for, something new and exciting. I have played 18 seasons in the Premiership and having done that, I wanted a new challenge," Butt told the South China Morning Post.

Butt has been brought down by South China's club chairman Steven Lo, who is a successful Hongkong businessman. He and the club have continental ambitions and surely a name like Nicky Butt would help them in their quest. South China is one of the clubs in the 2011 AFC Cup.

Butt has spoken to Manchester United legend Bryan Robson, who is now the coach of Thailand, about his advice and Butt said he should go for it, but only if he is match fit. Butt has prior Hongkong experiences with Manchester United, which he fondly remembers.

Butt surely would a great addition to Hong Kong's First Division and Butt's decision is likely in the coming days. At the moment it all sounds good, meaning very likely to happen.

Chhetri hattrick does the trick against Vietnam

India returned to winning ways in style with a 3-1 victory against Vietnam in an international friendly at the Balewadi sports complex in Pune. Striker Sunil Chhetri was the hero of the day with a hattrick to give Bob Houghton and his boys a much needed win in the run-up to the 2011 AFC Asian Cup.

It was an open game early on with both teams trying to get possession of the midfield and the game in general. But India looked sharper, especially on counter attacks with Abhishek Yadav and Sunil Chhetri trying to combine or set-up each other up with Abhishek more of the provider. Chhetri could have opened the score early on, but on two occasions he was wide or denied by the Vietnamese goalkeeper. But he made amends in the 25th minute when he beat the keeper to open the score for India. Vietnam looked a little shocked after falling behind as India did try to build on their lead, but it remained 1-0 until the breather.

After the break the match would see even more goals. Only four minutes into the second half Chhetri would double the lead from an Anthony Pereira cross. The lead looked confortable, but Vietnam weren't beaten yet. Surkumar Singh gifted them a penalty in the 62nd minute when he brought down Dao Van Phong in the box. The resultant penalty was taken by defender Vu Nhu Thanh and he reduced the deficit. It was 2-1 and suddenly there were some doubts if India would win this game, but it was Chhetri's day as the Delhi boy confirmed India's victory with his third goal of the night in the 72nd minute, another lovely strike.

After playing their second match in Pune, India have a one win, one loss record and they will play their third and final match on October 13 against Yemen. This time the opponent will be a west Asian side and hopefully India will continue to improve.

After the game coach Bob Houghton was a happy man as not only the result was positive, but the overall performance of the team was too. Though India won yesterday and had lost on Monday, Bob once more confirmed his opinion that Vietnam are a better side then Hongkong. The only difference being that it was a much better performance by India on the night.

But not only Bob Houghton will have been a happy man. Sunil Chhetri will be pleased to be back amongst the goals after not being able to do anything worthwhile in the matches earlier. I remember after the Namibia game that he told me, he isn't happy with his game and needs to improve a lot ahead of the Asian Cup. Hopefully he has refound his scoring boots and doesn't lose them until Doha.


Match Stats

India 3-1 Vietnam

Goals: 1-0,2-0,3-1 Sunil Chhetri (25',49',72'), 2-1 Vu Nhu Thanh (62', penalty)

India: 1-Subrata Pal; 17-Surkumar Singh, 19-Gouramangi Singh, 5-Anwar, 22-Syed Rahim Nabi; 28-Anthony Pereira, 30-Climax Lawrence (66' 7-N.P.Pradeep), 6-Baldeep Singh (66' 23-Steven Dias), 25-Clifford Miranda (66' 8-Renedy Singh); 9-Abhishek Yadav, 11-Sunil Chhetri
Substitutes: 16-Arindam Bhattacharya, 3-N.S. Manju, 18-Sushil Kumar Singh, 27-Mehrajuddin Wadoo

Vietnam: 1-Duong Hong Son, 4-Le Phuoc Tu, 7-Vu Nhu Thanh (74' 3-Nguyen Huy Hoang), 12-Nguyen Minh Phuong (79' 15-Tran Duy Quang), 13-Nguyen Quang Hai (46' 11-Nguyen Trong Hoang), 16-Huynh Quang Thanh, 22-Phan Van Tai Em, 17-Nguyen Vu Phong , 23-Le Van Truong (51' 39-Dao Van Phong), 34-Le Sy Manh (46' 8-Nguyen Viet Than), 19-Pham Thanh Luong (74' 38-Nguyen Xuan Thanh)
Substitutes: 27-Nguyen Manh Dung

Referee: Dinesh Nair (India)
Assistant Referees: Francisco Fernandes (India), Shaji Kurian (India)
Fourth Official: Arumugam Rowan (India)

India suffer Hongkong defeat

India suffered a lone goal defeat at the hands of Hongkong in an international friendly in Pune last night. The difference was a brilliant strike by Li Haiqiang for the East Asians. The match is part of India's preparations for the 2011 AFC Asian Cup in Qatar in January next year.

It was a match of two halves. While the first session belonged to a strong India, the control of the match shifted to Hongkong after the breather. And once more the big worry for Bob Houghton will be the lack of goals by the striker and attacking players even after well chances created.

Bob Houghton was forced to field some of his fringe players due to injuries to Baichung Bhutia, N.P. Pradeep, Steven Dias and Mahesh Gawli. Compared to the Namibia game on September 15 there were only two changes, While Climax Lawrence replaced Pradeep, Nabi played in place of Mahesh as Anwar surprisingly took the field as he was expected to remain on the bench.

India looked good in the first session with Anthony Pereira playing a strong game on his usual right wing, numerous crosses coming in but the strikers unable to use them. At the back Gouramangi Singh was once more a dependable defender with Subrata Pal coming to his teams rescue a few times. After the break Hongkong was the stronger side and deservingly scored the winner through captain Li Haiqiang. India did try to get a late equaliser, but it was not to be.

Bob Houghton said at the post-match press conference that he was happy with the performance but not with the result. The lack of goals from the strikers in absence of Baichung Bhutia would be a growing worry, especially the lack of form of Sunil Chhetri from whom a lot is expected especially in the absence of Baichung.


Match Stats

India: 1-Subrata Pal; 17-Surkumar Singh, 19-Gouramangi Singh, 5-Anwar, 22-Syed Rahim Nabi; 28-Anthony Pereira, 30-Climax Lawrence (78' 8-Renedy Singh), 27-Mehrajuddin Wadoo (79' 6-Baldeep Singh), 25-Clifford Miranda (66' 23-Steven Dias); 9-Abhishek Yadav (66' 18-Sushil Kumar Singh), 11-Sunil Chhetri
Substitutes: 16-Arindam Bhattacharya, 2-Govin Singh, 12-Deepak Kumar Mondal

Hong Kong: 17-Tse Tak Him; 2-Lee Chi Ho, 3-Poon Yiu Cheuk, 5-Bai He, 8-Lee Hong Lim, 11-Li Haiqiang, 12-Lo Kwan Yee (61' 19-Chu Siu Kei), 15-Chan Wai Ho, 16-Leung Chun Pong (90' 14-Li Hang Hui), 18-Sham Kwak Fai (46' 4-Lee Wai Lun), 20-Ye Jia
Substitutes: 1-Li Hon Ho, 7-Sham Kwak Keung, 9-Lee Wai Lim, 13-Cheung Kin Fung

Referee: Pratap Singh (India)
Assistant Referees: Francisco Fernandes (India), Shaji Kurian (India)
Fourth Official: Arumugam Rowan (India)

India face Hongkong test

India face Hongkong in an international friendly in Pune tonight to kick-off a series of three friendlies in 10 days. The match is part of India's preparations for the 2011 AFC Asian Cup in Qatar in January next year. The match will kick-off at 18.00 IST at the Balewadi Sports Complex in Pune and the match will be shown live on Ten Action (formerly Zee Sports).

India coach Bob Houghton will have to field a new starting eleven with a number of players out due to injuries. The list includes captain Baichung Bhutia and Anwar, who both had picked-up injuries in the friendly against Namibia on September 15. Steven Dias still hasn't fully recovered from a rib injury, Samir Naik is also out as are N.P. Pradeep and Mohammed Rafi.

Bob will have to reorganise in all departments of his team except the goalkeepers position where Subrata Pal is set to start. In place of Anwar Arjuna Awardee Deepak Kumar Mondal is set to get a rare start in the heart of defence, while a recovered Syed Rahim Nabi could be back as left back. If Pradeep is out then Mehrajuddin Wadoo, who was impressive against Namibia, is likely to take his place besides stand-in captain Climax Lawrence. With Steven out Anthony Pereira will once more play in his usual right wing position while Dempo team mate Clifford Miranda is set to play on the left flank. It Rafi out Sunil Chhetri is set to get Abhishek Yadav as strike partner, who also had impressed against Namibia.

The two sides had last met in January 2009 in Hongkong in an international friendly which Hongkong had won 2-1. Last time around India had been lacking match practice, but this time it is the other way around as Bob told the-aiff.com website, "We have the advantage to be together more than our opponents. It has been three months now that the Indian team has been training together and we certainly hold the advantage."

One will have to see if India can utilise the home advantage. After the game tonight India then have two more friendlies in the coming 10 days before the squad get a break and are allowed to go home before the final Asian Cup camp. First India take on Vietnam on October 8 and then against Yemen on October 13. These matches will also be played in Pune.