Rajasthan United FC downed Madan Maharaj FC with the help of two late goals from Surag Chettri and Harpreet Singh to secure a 2-0 victory in the Hero I-League Qualifiers final round match here at the Bangalore Football Stadium on Wednesday (October 20, 2021).

The win gives Rajasthan United six points from their first two matches in the final round, placing the side in pole position to secure the coveted Hero I-League spot with Kenkre FC close behind on four points. With no points on the board in the finals so far, Madan Maharaj FC have been eliminated from Hero I-League contention.

The first chance of the afternoon fell Madan Maharaj FC’s way as striker Biren Rai closed down goalkeeper Vishal Joon but his shot went off target. After a quiet opening spell in the game, the match suddenly sprung into life after the 15th minute mark as both sides were on the receiving end of a flurry of chances.

MMFC created another chance from a corner which was played short and worked well between the trio of Mehtab Hossain, Siam Hanghal and Bishnu Bordoloi. Bordoloi played a cross into the far post which found the unmarked Loveday Okechukwu but to no avail.

In the 17th minute, Harmanjot Singh’s shot from over 35 yards missed the top corner by a whisker. RUFC came close again in the 19th minute as winger Aman Thapa’s cross from the right was missed by Akeem Abioye.

After the change of ends at half time, RUFC immediately put the ball in the back of the net through winger Dilli Ram Sanyasi. After some neat interplay between Aman Thapa and Akeem Abioye, Akeem squared the ball inside the box and found Dilli Ram, but the latter’s goal was disallowed as he was judged offside.

Vishal Joon was called into action once again in the 77th minute when veteran MMFC right back Abhishek Das set off on a mazy run, chopping infield and then out before unleashing a fierce drive to produce an acrobatic save from the RUFC shot stopper.

In the 81st minute, Monotosh tackled the ball away from Harpreet, Surag Chettri latched onto the loose ball and drilled a grounded shot towards the MMFC goal. His shot lacked power and was comfortably held by Abhishek Calvin.

RUFC finally brought an end to the stubborn Madan Maharaj resistance in the 88th minute through a well-worked team goal. Akeem Abioye chipped in a precise lob into the box for striker Harpreet Singh, who selflessly chested the ball into the path of the oncoming Surag Chettri, who made no mistake with the finish this time around. Abhishek Calvin got a hand onto Surag Chettri’s finish, but could not keep the ball from rolling into the back of the net.

RUFC doubled their lead in the dying embers of the game after some fantastic individual work from substitute Raja Musharaf. Raja crawled out of a tight space and emerged with the ball from the near the corner flag on the right flank to dash towards goal and play in his teammate Harpreet Singh. Harpreet could no mistake from the six yard box with the amount of time he was afforded, and he calmly finished at the near post to put the game to bed for Rajasthan United FC.

Rajasthan United FC will now take on Kenkre FC in the decider for the Hero I-League Qualifiers, with the odds in favour of RUFC, for whom only a draw will suffice, whereas Kenkre FC must secure all three points to seal their place in Hero I-League 2021-22.

CREDITS- AIFF MEDIA

For Trial related updates: Latest trials updates in Mumbai Football

Also Read: Draw against Delhi FC keeps Kenkre’s I-League hopes alive

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Ryntih SC will take on Madan Maharaj FC in Group A of the Hero I-League Qualifiers 2021 as we move towards the business end of the group stage matches. Ryntih SC will be keen to get their first points on the board after failing to win their first match, while Madan Maharaj FC will look to add to their solitary point after earning a draw in their opening encounter. The match will be played here at the Bangalore Football Stadium on October 11, 2021 at 3:45 PM IST.

Ryntih SC head coach Khlain Syiemlieh reflected on his side’s performance in their opening match against Rajasthan United where his side produced a late surge to score two goals, but eventually faced a 3-2 defeat. Khlain expressed that he was disappointed not to get at least a point for his team’s efforts, but he commended the spirited performance from his wards as they nearly came back from three goals down to get a result.

Looking ahead, Khlain remained optimistic of his side’s chances of progressing further from the first group stage by finishing amongst the top two teams in the group A. The task has been cut out for Ryntih SC, as they will come up against Madan Maharaj FC in tomorrow’s contest. Khlain said in the pre match press conference, “We are very happy with our preparation for the upcoming match as we have had a week to prepare for it. We will look to build on the performance that we showed towards the end of our last game and perform consistently at that level, as we know we are capable of that.”

An interesting development in the Ryntih SC camp ahead of tomorrow’s match will be a change of leadership on the field, as Meban Wahlang will be donning the captain’s armband against Madan Maharaj. Head coach Khlain went on to explain that Ryntih SC has frequently chosen to rotate captaincy as a matter of the team’s principle, and it was not a personal decision to take the armband away from Banpynkhrawnam Nongkhlaw.

Skipper Meban Wahlang expressed that he is ready to lead the side in their quest for the three points tomorrow. He said, “I am happy and eager to be named the captain for tomorrow’s match as I like to take on this responsibility at an important time for the club. The boys want to come out strongly tomorrow and get the three points, as we want to improve our result from the previous outing.”

Madan Maharaj FC head coach Amit Jaiswal oversaw his side’s exhilarating 3-3 draw against FC Bengaluru United in their opening match. Jaiswal was disappointed not to walk away with the full three points from his side’s first match. The coach felt that his side had done enough to warrant a win. However, they squandered a two goal lead in the second half to allow their opponents a way back into the contest. The Madhya Pradesh based team thought they grabbed the eventual winner in the 94^th minute, only to be pegged back again through an equaliser 10 seconds later. Jaiswal believes that his side will learn a lesson from that topsy-turvy encounter, and look to implement a more clinical approach in the next match.

Speaking about Madan Maharaj’s talismanic striker Shubham Bhowmick, Jaiswal heaped praise on his frontman. He spoke about his side’s tactical setup in the pre-match press conference. Jaiswal said, “Of course, our strategy will differ slightly from opponent to opponent, but our key strengths are that we have a striker who can hold up play very effectively. Shubham (Bhowmick) is a confident lad, he’s young and we are all pretty sure that he will be nurtured into an even better player in the future. It is good to have a striker who can lead the line alone up front and cause problems to the opposition defence, particularly if they are uncomfortable in dealing with long balls over the top.”

Experienced goalkeeper Shayan Roy gave an insight into the team’s thinking over how they are approaching their maiden Hero I-League Qualifiers campaign as they push towards booking their place into the Final round. Shayan said, “We are taking things match by match at the moment. We are not focusing on the other teams in the group or looking at the table currently. Our focus is very clearly on what we need to do, and following the coaching staff’s instructions on how to move forward one game at a time.”

“Ryntih SC are a good team, and we have to give them their due respect. We will have to play a very good match against them to emerge with three points, and that is what we are focussing on. It will be a good competition when we play against Ryntih,” Shayan added.

CREDITS- AIFF MEDIA

For Trial related updates: Latest trials updates in Mumbai Football

Also Read: Two wins in two games for Kenkre FC

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