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Former IFA Shield winners United SC earned a hard-fought 2-1 victory over South Korea’s Busan Sun Moon FC at the Saltlake Stadium, on Saturday evening. Mohammed Rafique and Ranty Martins Soleye scored for United SC in the 41st minute and 86th minute of the game, while Yeon Je Un had equalised for Busan Sun Moon before the breather.
This was the first match for the Kolkata-side after their Dutch coach Eelco Schattorie resigned and left. The team tried to adopt to life after Eelco, as Anjan Nath, the interim coach fielded an experienced side to counter the foreign opponents.
Bello Rasaq, United’s ever dependable defender made his return to action after a break due to sickness, while Ranty Martins and Eric Brown were the combination upfront.
With C.K.Vineeth having left for Bengaluru FC, experienced Snehasish Chakraborty was included in the first eleven, while Asif K. came back in his usual position of a holding midfielder with Souvik Chakraborty making way for him with linking-up with Lalkamal Bhowmick.
The game started in good tempo, with United SC having its share of possession in the early minutes. Ranty Martins had a golden opportunity in the 12th minute, but he failed to place the ball past the keeper. Busan Sun Moon also had their chances through a long-ranger and following a corner.
The first goal of the match came in the 41st minute, when Dhanachandra Singh fed Mohammed Rafique with a ball well inside the box and the midfielder calmly slotted home. But the joy didn’t last long, as United conceded a silly goal just before the breather through Yeon Je Un due to a lapse of concentration in their own half.
In the second session both team tried to score and it was Eric Brown, who missed the chance of the game in the 49th minute. Busan Sun Moon also created numerous chances but the United SC defence and young custodian Abhijit Das denied them.
In the end United SC took advantage of their opponents’ lack of concentration, as Ranty Martins punishing them with a smart finish after 86 minutes to fetch his team the first group victory through a nice pass from Eric Brown.
