GANGTOK, March 23: Prayag United SC registered a narrow 1-0 victory over relegation- threatened United Sikkim on Saturday (March 23) at Paljor Stadium through a 25th minute goal from Ranti Martins.
Coach Eelco JC Schattorie rested key players like Calros Hernandez and Gourmangi Singh for the match considering the team had recently played IFA Shield and needed time to recover. The Kolkata club, which won the first leg match 10-1, wasn’t really in their prime on Saturday.
But Martins, the highest scorer of this I-league, made the difference in the end. A beautiful through ball from Kayne Vincent caught United Sikkim defense napping and Martins calmly lobbed the ball over goalkeeper Rakshit Kumar to score the only goal of the match.
Martins should have found another goal but lashed his volley over the United Sikkim goal from close range.
In between, United Sikkim played some enterprising football and controlled the midfield to create some good goal-scoring chances. A strong header from striker Nurudeen Salau early in the first half was wonderfully tipped over the bar by Prayag United SC goalkeeper Subrata Paul.
Towering striker Pablo Rodriquez Aracil won a lot of long balls creating chances for his teammates. Nurudeen also came close to scoring twice in second half but was denied by Paul.
With twenty-odd minutes left, Schattorie brought in Gourangmi Singh to protect the lead and Calros Hernandez to strengthen the midfield. The inclusion of these two senior players shut out United Sikkim attacks and Prayag United SC returned back to Kolkata with three full points.
“I did not field a full-strength team today as we recently played IFA Shield final. We have played some eight matches in the past 20 days and players need recovery time. Today’s game was not our best match. But we are certainly happy with the result”, said Schattorie.
United Sikkim coach Nathan Hall praised his players for their determined performance. “The players were outstanding and played with the right attitude”, he said.
Coach Eelco JC Schattorie rested key players like Calros Hernandez and Gourmangi Singh for the match considering the team had recently played IFA Shield and needed time to recover. The Kolkata club, which won the first leg match 10-1, wasn’t really in their prime on Saturday.
But Martins, the highest scorer of this I-league, made the difference in the end. A beautiful through ball from Kayne Vincent caught United Sikkim defense napping and Martins calmly lobbed the ball over goalkeeper Rakshit Kumar to score the only goal of the match.
Martins should have found another goal but lashed his volley over the United Sikkim goal from close range.
In between, United Sikkim played some enterprising football and controlled the midfield to create some good goal-scoring chances. A strong header from striker Nurudeen Salau early in the first half was wonderfully tipped over the bar by Prayag United SC goalkeeper Subrata Paul.
Towering striker Pablo Rodriquez Aracil won a lot of long balls creating chances for his teammates. Nurudeen also came close to scoring twice in second half but was denied by Paul.
With twenty-odd minutes left, Schattorie brought in Gourangmi Singh to protect the lead and Calros Hernandez to strengthen the midfield. The inclusion of these two senior players shut out United Sikkim attacks and Prayag United SC returned back to Kolkata with three full points.
“I did not field a full-strength team today as we recently played IFA Shield final. We have played some eight matches in the past 20 days and players need recovery time. Today’s game was not our best match. But we are certainly happy with the result”, said Schattorie.
United Sikkim coach Nathan Hall praised his players for their determined performance. “The players were outstanding and played with the right attitude”, he said.
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