HAL coach blames referee for colluding with Churchill Bros

Margao (Goa): HAL Coach R Thyagaraj has blamed on a match referee for "favouring" Churchill Brothers to rob them of a winning chance.

"Our team played their hearts out and defended the citadel well after scoring a goal in the 8th minute. But the referee, A Rowan, favoured the home team and gave six minutes of extra time instead of four minutes which helped them to find the equaliser," he said. The matching ended in a draw. I will raise the issue with All India Football Federation (AIFF) about the same and ask them to take necessary action against the referee, Thyagaraj said while addressing a post match press conference. Alfred Fernandes, who is acting as a stop-gap coach for Manuel Gomes of Churchill Brothers, said his team failed to put up a collective performance as they kept on missing chances until striker Roberto Silva saved them from the defeat by scoring in the stoppage time. He blamed lack of concentration and failing to hit the bull`s eye as reasons for lacklustre performance of his team. "We will sort out our mistakes and do well in our next match," Alfred said. PTI