Churchill Brothers failed to emulate fellow Goans Dempo as the only Indian club to ever reach the quarterfinals as they lost 1-2 to Kuwaiti outfit Al Qadsia in their single leg pre-quarterfinal in Kuwait City late on Wednesday night.
The Goan side, playing in their first AFC Cup after winning the 2008-09 I-League, played out of their skins but fell to a more fancied Al Qadsia at Mohamed Al Hamed Stadium.
For Al Qadsia, Al Enezi struck twice in the 34th and 43rd minutes while Churchill pulled one back through skipper Odafa Onyeka Okolie in the 61st minute.
Al Qadsia created their first chance in the 12th minute when Dhary Saeed sent a cross from the left that was headed goalwards by Al Enezi. However, Churchill Brothers goalkeeper Arindam Bhattacharya was up to the task.
The Churchill goalkeeper was finally beaten after 33 minutes when Al Mutawa broke free on the left flank and sent a cross into the penalty box which Al Enezi headed into the back of the net. Al Qadsia doubled the lead two minutes before the breather when Al Enezi headed in an Al Mutawa free-kick.
Churchill started the second-half with purpose and their pressure finally paid off a minute after the hour mark when skipper Odafe controlled the ball with his chest inside the area before firing a powerful right-footer beyond Al Khaldi.