Churchill Brothers had about three and a half weeks to prepare for the ISL, and they beat Mumbai City 2-1 on debut
Gaurav Bora came off the bench to head Churchill Brothers’ first ISL goal at Fatorda, and Sebastián Gutiérrez added a second before Mumbai City’s late penalty.
Oct 12, 2026
Churchill Brothers had about three and a half weeks of training to get ready for their first Indian Super League season. Some of their foreign signings arrived only days before it began. On Sunday at Fatorda they beat Mumbai City, champions twice, 2-1, and two of their substitutes made the difference.
Gaurav Bora headed the club’s first ISL goal on 57 minutes, and Sebastián Gutiérrez added the second on 86. Sergio Llamas scored a penalty for Mumbai City deep into stoppage time, too late to matter.
How Churchill got into the ISL
The Goan club’s way in was unusual. In August, Churchill bought Jamshedpur FC’s operating company from Tata Steel for a token Rs 100, taking over the contracts of 12 players and two coaches. That gave them a squad to build from, but not much time. Coach Dimitris Dimitriou fitted 37 training sessions into about three and a half weeks before the opener, with late arrivals and visa delays among the overseas players.
Mumbai City, coached by former India head coach Manolo Márquez, were the better side for most of the first half. They had more of the ball. Brandon Fernandes forced a save from Sayad Kadir in the ninth minute after a cross from Wilmar Jordan, and Churchill’s best moment came on the break, when Vincy Barretto ran from deep and shot just over. Wayde Lekay tried his luck from distance on 37 minutes. It was 0-0 at the break, which suited Churchill more than it suited Mumbai.
Bora off the bench
Dimitriou took off Alexandre Yeoule at half-time and sent on Bora, which left Churchill with an all-Indian back line. Twelve minutes into the second half, Churchill worked a short corner, Anil Gaonkar crossed, and Bora headed it in. Soon after, Lekay curled one from long range against the crossbar.
Mumbai City made three changes on 62 minutes and still created very little. Another substitute set up the second. Stendley Fernandes had been on the pitch for a minute when he combined with Gutiérrez, and the Colombian finished from inside the box.
Mumbai City’s consolation came when Angu fouled Akash Mishra in the area, and Llamas sent the penalty in at 90+3.
“We wanted to see how the opponent plays,” Dimitriou said afterwards. “But later, when we wanted to play our game, and with some changes that we made tactically, we won the game.”
Márquez is not happy
Mumbai City were supposed to be the settled side here, and Márquez made it clear afterwards that he did not see it that way. “Our pre-season was a joke. The club was not able to organise a single strong game,” he said. He only arrived from FC Goa in the summer, and losing at Fatorda, his old home ground, will not have helped his mood.
Churchill, for their part, should get better as their overseas players settle. The first test of that is at home to East Bengal on Sunday, 18 October, at 5pm IST. Mumbai City go to Punjab FC the following evening, and on this evidence Márquez has eight days to find some sharpness his team did not show on Sunday.