2nd Division League : TRAU go down 2-3 to NB RAC at home
Source: The Sangai Express
Imphal, January 22 2019:
Tiddim Road Athletic Union (TRAU) suffered a 2-3 loss in the hands of New Barrackpore Rainbow Athletic Club (NBRAC), Kolkata in a Group C clash of the ongoing Second Division League at Khuman Lampak Main Stadium today.
TRAU which have secured previous two away matches saw their winning streak end with Joel Sunday and Sujay scoring for the Kolkata side in the second half to set up the 3-2 win after a 1-1 draw in the first half.
TRAU started the game on a positive note and took the lead in the 12th minute when midfielder Reisangmei Khodang pounced on a well calculated pass from forward Princewill Emeka to beat rivals' keeper Dibyendu Sarkar.
Ngangbam Naocha and Joseph Mayowa then led the TRAU attack from the front looking to extend the lead but their attempts lacked composure and hardly troubled the Kolkata side.
The phase shifted in favour of the visitors as the game approached towards the break and to the TRAU's disappointment, NB RAC had the equaliser in the 38th minute when defender Sujit Sadhu attempted a goal after TRAU poorly cleared a corner kicked.
After the chance of the ends, the visitors made the most of the possession and toyed around the deteriorating defence line up of TRAU to create scoring chances.
Their efforts paid dividend soon with Nigerian forward Ayeni Joel Sunday Yinka finding the breakthrough in the 50th minute with a clinical assist from Sourov Roy.
The goal did a world of good to their confidence and continued to dominate the proceeding in search of more goals.
Defensive lapses on the part of the home team profited the visitors once again as midfielder Sujay Dutta got to an end of Rajdeep Shah pass and slotted home the ball in the 65th minute to give his team a healthy 3-1 lead.
TRAU which were reeling under huge pressure got some relief when its skipper Princewill Emeka pulled off a goal in the 73rd minute.
TRAU however fell short to find the equaliser as the Kolkata side managed well to stonewall all proceeding attacks to hold on their lead till the final whistle and earned full points for the first time in the Group stage after 2 draws in their previous ties.
Reisangmei Khodang of TRAU (77'); Ugochukwu Emmanuel (70'), Joel Sunday (75') and Dibyendu Sarkar of NB RAC were yellow carded by the referee for their unsportsmanlike behaviours.