AFTER FOUR BACK TO BACK defeats Minerva Punjab turned things around for them to some degree when they held Churchill Brothers to a 0-0 draw at the Guru Nanak Stadium in Ludhiana today.
Facing a team that caused a lot of stir by beating Bengaluru FC in the previous game, the Warriors looked much better than they did in the previous game. Their attacking was smoother and more comprehensive with the likes of Victor, Anirudh Thapa and David initiating a number of attacks.
Even Churchill Brothers were at par in terms of the attacking game, and they were the ones who seemed to be on top in the opening minutes. The likes of Chestrpaul and Fulganco Cardozo were instrumental in mounting repeated attacks against Punjab and creating chances. In fact in the first half Anthony Wolfe was fouled just inside the Minerva box; the referee thought the incident had taken place outside the box but that was a major penalty that the visitors were deprived of.
While Punjab failed to score they came close multiple times, including once when a free kick taken byKareem Omoloja took a slap from the keeper and hit the crossbar.
But a point was a welcome change for Minerva Punjab; although they are still bottom of the table with just 2 points from 6 matches, it was crucial for them to break the streak. For Churchill Brothers, too, a point on the road is not bad; they are still 8th with 5 points from 6 matches but they are unbeaten in the last 3 games and that's a lot of confidence to take forward as they prepare to pay a visit to Shillong Lajong.
Here's how the match unfolded, narrated in detail through our real time text commentary...