Kolkata, Dec 1 (IANS) Rangdajied United FC finally shrugged off their winless run after defeating Mohun Bagan 2-0 in the 12th round of the I-League at the Salt Lake Stadium here Sunday.
Manandeep Singh gave ‘The Blues’ a lead against the run-of-play in the 22nd minute before Eugeneson Lyngdoh scored the second in the 66th minute to ensure the win.
Coming in, following back-to-back draws after strengthening their squad, the Meghalaya side were confident of upsetting their opponents as coach Santosh Kashyap made some surprising changes. He dropped K.C. David Ngaihte and Joy Chandra to master a sweet revenge against the club that sacked him mid-way last year.
The hosts were the first to get a scoring chance when Subrata Paul failed to clear a back pass that fell on Odafa Okolie‘s feet at the edge of the box. Odafa passed the ball to Eric Muranda and luckily for Rangdajied, the Kenyan was slow on his turn and the visitors survived.
The hosts, however, continued to press hard, Katsumi being the architect of the attacks. But soon, Rangdajied players settled down and in no time silenced the Mariners in the stands.
It was Manandeep who broke the deadlock when Yohei Iwasaki dribbled passed two defenders and found the former East Bengal striker inside the six-yard box who coolly slotted the ball home.
Mohun Bagan then came all guns blazing, seeking the equaliser with Odafa taking most of the burden on himself. But time and again, Paul came to the rescue and took them to the break with the lead.
Change of ends saw the match starting in the same vein but this time Rangdajied had the first look at the goal. Manandeep took a sharp turn and unleashed a screamer which went straight into Sandip Nandi’s hand.
The Green and Maroons also made a few inroads but none was dangerous enough to trouble the defence before Tomba Singh came up with another brilliant header, forcing Nandi to stretch full-length to keep the ball away.
Around the hour mark, Odafa failed to restore parity on two occasions.
But it was Rangdajied all again in the 66th minute when skipper Lyngdoh stunned the Kolkata side.
Kim Song Yong brilliantly built-up from the right and passed it on to Manandeep, whose back heel found Eugene unmarked inside the six yard box. The No.10 had to just tap the ball in.
Mohun Bagan initiated few more attacks after the second goal and Odafa forced the former Mariner goalkeeper to come up with few brilliant saves that earned him the man of the match award.
Rangdajied United accumulated eight points from 11 outings and are now placed 12th in the standings.
The team will now return home to host East Bengal Dec 7 at the Jawaharalal Nehru Stadium.
