Rangdajied United lose 2-0 to United SC on I-League debut

Rangdajied United FC couldn’t produce their desired result in their first-ever I-League game as the debutants, as they went down 0-2 to United SC at the Salt Lake Stadium in Kolkata. Ranti Martins and Eric Brown got their name on the scoresheet for United SC.

Rangdajied United started in a 5-3-2 formation with all three registered foreigners – Lamine Tamba, Yohei Iwasaki and Edmar Figueira in the starting eleven.

With the match kicking off at 3pm in the afternoon, Rangdajied players, coming from a cold Shillong conditions, found it more difficult to get going in the hot and humid conditions of Kolkata than their counterparts.

United SC had the first meaningful attack of the game with Eric Brown testing Rangdajied United goalkeeper Surajy Kumar Paryar with a cross-cum-shot. Minutes later, Paryar made a double save from a corner to deny the hosts.

Tapan Maity’s flag kick was headed goalwards by Ranti Martins but Parya made a great stop and then showed good reflexes to save Vineeth’s effort.

Rangdajied were struggling to create chances from open play but created a few problems for the United SC defence from corners. Young Sandesh Gadkari produced a decent save off Sangram Mukherjee after skipper Eugeneson Lyngdoh’s excellent delivery.

The Shillong club’s best chance of the first half fell to Brazilian Edmar who found himself unmarked from a Lyngdoh freekick but only managed a weak header.

Japanese Iwasaki also had a good solo run as Rangdajied ended the half strongly but United SC’s star striker Ranti Martins hit the woodwork from a freekick just before halftime.

Both teams struggled to get going in the second half, with no real attempt on goal in the first 15 minutes after the interval. However, just after the hour mark Ranti nearly opened the scoring as he got away from his marker but put his effort narrowly wide. Minutes later, Dhanachandra Singh also went close for United SC from a corner.

With Rangdajied struggling to get into the game, coach Santosh Kashyap replaced Edmar with Bansharai Sun. However, it was United SC who went in front through Ranti as the Nigerian headed home Eric Brown’s well-measured freekick.

The visitors produced a decent response after going behind as Elam Abocha Singh tested Sangram Mukherjee from 30 yards.
But the purple shirts doubled their advantage in the 75th minute when Brown and Ranti exchanged passes with the former slotting past Paryar.

Rangdajied tried their best to come back into the contest but in the end had to settle for a losing start. Lamenting their missed chances, coach Santosh Kashyap said, “We paid the price for missing chances in the first-half as United SC showed their experience in the second half and tied us down.”

“Moreover, the heat and humidity also slowed us down. But as the season progress, we will have to adjust to these conditions. I have faith in my boys and we will bounce back,” added Kashyap.

Rangdajied United: Surajy Paryar; Poibang Poshna, Lamine Tamba, Pratik Chowdhury (Laldingngheta 72nd Mins), Elam Abocha Singh, Eugeneson Lyngdoh, Mun Mun Lugun, Yohei Iwasaki, Sandesh Gadkari (Joy Kharraswai 81st Min), Edmar Figueira (Bansharai Sun 63rd Min), Restomwell Khriam.