I-League: Namdhari FC get the better of TRAU

KOLKATA: TRAU FC’s abysmal run in I-League continued as they were handed their eighth loss of the season by Namdhari FC in a battle of bottom-placed teams.

Playing at the Municipal Stadium in Kalyani, Namdhari took the lead through Saurabh Bhanwala in the 35th minute. However, Danish Aribam equalized for TRAU five minutes later. But it was the visitors who had the last laugh as Manvir Singh scored the winner 26 minutes into the second half for a 2-1 victory.

TRAU continue to remain at the bottom of the table with just four points from 10 matches, while Namdhari rose two places above them with the win. It was only their second victory of the season and they have eight points from the same number of matches.

Earlier, Namdhari could have taken the lead as early as in the 10th minute when TRAU defender Sunil Benchamin almost scored an own goal when he tried to intercept a pass from Manvir inside the box. But to the relieftnn of the team from Manipur, the ball struck the woodwork and went out of play.

The visitors then had a golden opportunity to score in the 20th minute when Jaskaranpreet Singh headed a cross towards the goal. TRAU goalkeeper Mohammad Rafique Ali Sardar initially failed to grab on to the shot but managed to recover just in time to prevent the ball from crossing the line.

Namdhari were finally awarded for their efforts 15 minutes later when they won a free-kick. Imanol Arana Sadaba floated the ball into TRAU box where Bhanwala made good use of his height to head the ball into the net. However, Sardar, who got a hand to it, should have done better to keep it out.

Not only Sardar, his Namdhari counterpart Nishan Singh was also to blame as TRAU scored five minutes later. But his mistake didn’t prove too costly as the team from Punjab was able to walk away with the win in the end.

TRAU FC will now take on Rajasthan FC in their next game on Friday while Namdhari will travel to Shillong Lajong on Saturday.


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