Shillong, Oct 4: In an exciting opening match, Rajasthan United FC defeated Ryntih SC 3-2 at the Bangalore Football Stadium today.
After finding themselves holding a sizeable 3-0 lead after 70 minutes into the game, Rajasthan seemed on their way to a dominant victory before Ryntih came back with two goals to mount a tough fight towards the end of the game.
The team from Rajasthan saw out a tense final period to start their maiden I-League Qualifiers campaign with a win.
The encounter began with a high tempo as both teams looked to carve out clear goal scoring chances in the opening 10 minutes.
The first breakthrough of the match came slightly against the run of play in the 11th minute for RUFC. Dilli Ram Sanyasi was the quickest to latch onto the loose ball following a deflection and he volleyed a low and hard first-time shot which Ryntih goalkeeper Padam Chhetri was unable to block.
On the edge of half time, Sukhjit Singh doubled RUFC’s lead following a small defensive mistake.
Things got worse for the Shillong team before too long in the second 45 minutes.
The introduction of the experienced Chesterpaul Lyngdoh in the second half added a spark to Ryntih’s attack, but it was their opponents who went on to further extend their advantage.
Aman Thapa, who had been threatening to score the entire afternoon, finally got his goal in the 68th minute after producing a measured effort from just outside the box that curled back inside the goalpost to find the back of the net.
Ryntih didn’t lose hope but instead began a spirited fight-back by netting the first of their goals in the 79th minute through captain Banpynkhrawnam Nongkhlaw. After receiving the ball from a short corner, Sheen Sohktung crossed the ball into the box, which was headed goal wards towards goalkeeper Vishal Joon by Mebankhraw Wahlang. The ball slipped through the goalie’s fingertips and was bundled over the line by Nongkhlaw.
Sohktung was fouled in the box later, giving the Meghalaya club another scoring opportunity, which Sohktung converted himself.
This set up the match for a tense final few minutes in which Ryntih continued to pepper the RUFC goal with attempts from range but they could not find the equaliser.
Ryntih will next play on 11th October against Madan Maharaj of Bhopal.
(AIFF media photo)
