Churchill, Dempo through to Durand Cup semis

I-League champions Churchill Brothers and Dempo Sports Club on Thursday moved into the semi-finals of the 122nd Durand Cup football tournament and will face each other in the all Goan pre-summit clash on Saturday.

Churchill, Dempo through to Durand Cup semis

A tired Churchill Brothers came from behind to manage a 1-1 draw against an energetic Assam Rifles in their Group I quarter-final league match while Dempo riding on a Ranty Martins strike defeated Army XI 1-0 in their Group III match.

It was a clinical performance by Dempo but Army XI had their of chances in the game.

Dempo took the lead 13 minutes after the breather in a well orchestrated move between defender Mahesh Gawli, medio Joaquim Abranches and a perfect finish by the Nigerian forward.

Gawli made a solo run into the defence and gave square pass to Abranches, whose perfect cross, found an unmarked Martins and the Nigerian slotted in to give Dempo the winner.

Later in the day, the stress of playing back-to-back tournaments was apparent on the faces of the Churchill players and Meikingai Kamei's stinging right footer in the 55th minute gave Assam Rifles the lead.

The lead, however, lasted just 15 minutes after Charan Rai scored from a solo run as last year's runners-up Churchill Brothers made the last four.

Churchill Brothers made a slow start and never looked like a team that had won the IFA Shield Saturday. Star striker Odafe Onyeka Okolie was heavily guarded while the speedy Assam Rifles forwards Kamei and Akum Ao made regular inroads into the Churchill box but an alert stopper Gourmangi Singh kept them at bay.

After a goalless first half, Assam Rifles came out with a better game plan and showed more heart. They had to wait for 10 minutes as the Churchill defence was completely left off-guard and Kamei's screamer went past goalkeeper Arindam Bhattacharya and crashed into the top net.

Assam Rifles came close to doubling the lead in the 67th minute but Kamie failed to connect his header to a precise cross from Ajit Singh.

Against the run of play, Churchill found the equaliser after Rai made a solo run from a through pass, dribbled past two defenders, and slotted into the net to bring back the Goan outfit into the game.

In the last 10 minutes, Churchill pressed hard for the winner but luck was not on their side. The closest they came was when Odafe's shot hit the upright on its way out and they ended up splitting points.

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