Thabiso Brown, third from left, scored a hat-trick for Gokulam Kerala in a losing cause against Dempo SC in the I-League at Kozhikode.
| Photo Credit: K. RAGESH
Drama was aplenty on the final day of the I-League.
At the end of it all, Churchill Brothers went atop the table. But bizarre as it may sound, the Goan team will have to wait for a while before it will know for sure if it has won its third I-League title.
That is because the All India Football Federation’s appeals committee has to decide on an appeal from Inter Kashi, which demanded it be given three points from the match against Namdhari FC.
Though Kashi had lost that game, it contended that Namdhari had fielded a player illegally. If Kashi wins the appeal, it could win its maiden I-League title, as its points tally would be revised to 42, two more than Churchill.
On Sunday, Churchill drew with Real Kashmir 1-1 at Srinagar. After Lalramsanga gave an early lead to the host, Rafiq Aminu equalised for Churchill five minutes into the second half. The Goans had at least needed a draw to entertain hopes of becoming the champion. Kashmir also had begun the match with an outside chance for the title.
At Kalyani, the Kashi men scored a dramatic 3-1 win against Rajasthan United. The game was heading towards a 1-1 draw, which would have put them out of contention, but they came back from the dead through injury time strikes by David Bollo and Matija Babovic.
Here at the Corporation Stadium, Gokulam Kerala, the fourth team in the title race, had begun brightly with a two-goal lead, just 11 minutes into the match, but Dempo SC staged a magnificent comeback to win 4-3.
Thabiso Brown, who has been brilliant since joining Gokulam last month, scored an old-fashioned hat-trick, but he was outshone by some sparkling football up front by Dempo.
The results: Real Kashmir 1 (Lalramsanga 8) drew with Churchill Brothers 1 (Rafiq Aminu 50) at Srinagar.
Gokulam Kerala 3 (Thabiso Brown 4, 11 & 73) lost to Dempo SC (Cristian Damian 21 & 90+4, Kapil Hoble 34, Didier Brossou 71) at Kozhikode.
Inter Kashi 3 (K.P. Prasanth 12, David Bollo 90+4, Matija Babovic 90+7) bt Rajasthan United 1 (Alain Oyarzun 69) at Kalyani.
Published – April 06, 2025 08:45 pm IST
