Rangdajied United go down to Dempo
Source: Hueiyen News Service
Imphal, February 15, 2013:
Randajied United FC yet again failed to grab any point in the I-League as the team went down 0-2 to 5-Time champions Dempo SC at the Tilak Maidan, Vasco on Saturday.
Alwyn George drew the first blood for the home side in the 7th minute before Haroon Amiri doubled the lead just before the half-time whistle.
The victory propelled Dempo SC from the 10th spot to the 5th while the Shillong side continue to remain at the bottom of the table.
Dempo were a different team altogether then what Rangdajied played at home in the 3rd round of the league.
The host, desperate to climb the table, started with a bang and pushed the visitors on the backfoot.
Their packed midfield talent was hard for Rangdajied to counter and Dempo did well to not allow Santosh Kashyap';s boy to settle down.
They dictated terms and were quick on the counters.
In one such counter, Papas'; boys opened their account.
Pronay Halder had intelligently chipped the ball to Clifford Miranda on the left and the Dempo captain�s attempt struck the inside of the post before rebounding, where Allwyn was on hand to turn the ball home for a simple goal.
The very next minute, goalkeeper TP Rehenesh, came up with a superlative save when Beto pounced on to a stray ball from just outside the box.
Rangdajied then responded with skipper Eugenson Lyngdoh leading from the front.
He had his long range scorcher, which could have been the equaliser, blocked by Dempo goalkeeper Laxmikant Kattimani.
Rangdajied were living dangerously, especially with Australian strikerTolgay Ozbey in good form.
The striker first made a mark with a diving header which the goalkeeper somehow managed to get his hand to the ball, and just before the break, his left footer rattled the post.
Dempo';s constant effort gained the desired result in the 44th minute, when Haroon Amiri scored an opportunistic goal, turning home a corner from Roberto Mendes from inside a crowded goalmouth.
In the 2nd half, Rangdajied were the first to have a go at the goal when Eugene once again unleashed a scorcher, which however went straight to Kattimani';s hand.
With Dempo content to see off the time, Rangdajied initiated few more moves but always found Kattimani to be omnipresent.
Iwasaki had his shot blocked by the goalie before Yong headed one wide of the post in the 80th minute.
Having started the 2nd half of the season on a sour note, Rangdajied will now have their task cut out.
With their Round 17 match against Sporting Clube de Goa pushed back to 2nd April, because of election in Shillong, the team now will have two-week break from the I-League.
By this time, with Edeh Chidi also likely to join in, Santosh Kashyap will have to regroup the team and raise the moral of the side before they go for the final assault in the last two months.