Sreenidi Deccan Beat Rajasthan United, Mohammedan Sporting Edge Out Gokulam Kerala
Sreenidi Deccan scored a comfortable 2-0 win over Rajasthan United in a 2022-23 I-League match at Deccan Arena on Sunday.
Asheer Akhtar scored for the second straight game in the fifth minute, while Lalromawia scored another later in the first half as the Deccan Warriors celebrated their seventh home win of the season.
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Awal Mohammed headed a corner from set piece specialist Faysal Shayesteh over the goal. The Rajasthan defense failed to remove the threat and the ball found its way to an unmarked Asheer Akhtar just outside the six-yard box, who shot the ball through a crowd of legs and into back net.
Six minutes later, home captain David Castaneda had a chance to double the lead but was unable to take it. The Colombian got on target on a break, but Rajasthan’s Aidar Mambetaliev applied enough pressure to parry it and fired his shot over the bar.
However, the Colombian was involved in Sreenidi’s second goal in the 39th minute. After a long throw from full-back Arijit Bagui in the penalty area, Castaneda Lalromawia set up and before Joon could realize anything, the Mizo midfielder slammed the ball in to make it 2-0.
Punctually at half-time, Rosenberg Gabriel shot from the right wing to score. But this time Joon was up to it and dived left to make the crucial save. Joon was called on again five minutes into the second half. He was well positioned to parry a stinging low shot from Castaneda at the near post.
The second half didn’t look like much in terms of goal-scoring actions. Rajasthan United were beginning to see better substitutions in the game but their strikers remained lavish in the last third, hardly putting Sreenidi keeper Ubaid CK to the test. At the other end, the hosts’ new signing, Rilwan Hassan, was singled out by Gabriel but the Nigerian just missed his goal.
Joon also had some work to do in stoppage time and made a full save from Sreenidi’s Ramhlunchhunga. In the last minute of the game, Rajasthan defender Novin Gurung received his marching orders after receiving a second yellow card for a foul on Shayesteh, and the Desert Warriors were forced to end the game with ten men.
Elsewhere, in the second game of the day, Mohammedan Sporting prevailed in a hard-fought 2-1 win over Gokulam Kerala when Abiola Dauda and Kean Lewis hit the back of the net for the Kolkata side.
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(This article was not edited by News18 staff and is published by a syndicated news outlet feed.)
first published: February 12, 2023 at 11:35 p.m. IST
last update: February 12, 2023 at 11:35 p.m. IST