SHILLONG, OCT 27: Rangdajied United went down by a goal to to Pune FC, in a seventh round encounter of the I-League at the Balewadi Sports complex on Sunday evening. Rangdajied coach Santosh Kashyap made five changes to the side that lost 3-0 to Sporting Clube in the last game, with Shambu Mistry, Ambilstar Sunn, Edmar Figueira, T Lalnunpuia and Bansharai Sun starting the game in place of Surjay Pariyar, Munmun Lugun, Sandesh Gadkari, Bhola Prasad and Prateek Chowdhary.
The game started in a positive note for Rangdajied, as the blues got into the attack straightaway, and had three consecutive corners in the first four minutes. The astute Pune FC defence, however, harmlessly cleared all of the kicks to keep the score at 0-0.
Three minutes later, Ho jun Shin had a go at the Pune FC goal, only to see his attempt blocked by Pune centre-back Anas Edathodika. The game then slowed down a bit, as both sides tried to see more of the ball. In the 17th minute, Ambilstar Sunn’s timely clearance prevented the hosts from getting a sniff at goal.
At the half hour mark, Pune FC struck a decisive blow to Rangdajied United, as Calum Angus scored after being set up by Douhou Pierre following a corner kick. The goal seemed to have a negative impact on the Rangdajied players, as the hosts continued their upward surge with a few more forays into the visitors’ half.
Six minutes later, however, Rangdajied had a good chance, as Edmar shot high from three yards out, following a well-taken free kick by Thomas Saikhom. The Brazilian then went close once again, as he hit the side-netting from a tight angle in the 44th minute.
The blues had a good start into the second half, as Edmar came close once again in the 50th minute, with the Brazilian’s shot from close-range being saved by the Pune FC custodian. Pune FC tried to slow things down by keeping more possession, and the hosts seemed to be succeeding in their endeavor.
Santosh Kashyap threw in Nagen Tamang, Bhola Prasad and Sandesh Gadkari to try and change things in the latter part of the second half. The blues had a few more chances, but failed to significantly trouble the Pune goalkeeper, as Pune FC kept more possession to hold back the Rangdajied attack.
In the 3rd minute of injury time, David Nghaite took a shot from outside the box. However, the winger’s shot went harmlessly over the bar, as Pune FC held on for a 1-0 win.
The loss keeps Rangdajied at the bottom of the table, with 2 points from 7 games. However, coach Kashyap will be encouraged by a vastly improved performance from his side, and will hope the blues finally win their first I-League game when they take on Salgaocar FC at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in Shillong on November 5. – By Our Reporter
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