Rangdajied United to face Dempo SC challenge
Source: Hueiyen News Service

Imphal, February 14, 2013: Rangdajied United continue their battle to rise from the slumber, they will be facing 5 times I-League champions, Dempo SC in their 16th round match at the Tilak Maidan in Goa on Saturday.

This will be Dempo's first match after the winter break while the Shillong side are coming after a 0-1 reverse against Churchill Brothers on Tuesday.

RUFC have been in Goa for about a week now and have acclimatized well to the conditions.

They looked to be in far better shape then what they were against Churchill Brothers.

Hence, Santosh Kashyap and boys will go into the match with lots of confidence.

Even their 0-1 lost to the Federation Cup champions came at the cost of a penalty.

So, there is not much to worry about the form and shape of the team.

And coming to Dempo, they were the team against whom Rangdajied United earned their first ever I-League point.

Dempo were the first team RUFC had hosted in the I-League and their inspirational comeback from 0-2 down at half time to level terms at the end, still remains one of the best battle so far.

Going into the Dempo match, Santosh Kashyap will have all his armoury at his disposal.

The backline, which have gone from strength to strength, will have Gouramangi Singh and Lamine Tamba in the centre with Yohei Iwasaki and Restomwell Khraim on either side.

The centre of the park will see captain Eugeneson Lyngdoh taking charge with the experience Tomba Singh or Alam Abocha making the start.

Livewire of the left flank, David Ngaihte seems to fit and is waiting for his return while the likes of Laldingngete and Ericson are raring to go.

The onus to score the goals however will go to the Brazilian, Edmar Figueira and North Korean, Kim Song Yong.

Hence with this team, surmounting the Dempo challenge will not be an impossible task.

But the fact is that, Dempo will be playing at their home this time and the astute tactician, Arthur Papas will be at the helm of the affairs.

So, the battle will be a completely different ball game and the team that performs better in that 90 minutes will go back smiling.

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