I-League: Rangdajied United FC drub United SC 4-0, emerge out of relegation

Following their win against Bengaluru FC last week, Rangdajied FC on Sunday produced another impressive performance and emerged out of relegation zone by thrashing United SC 4-0 in an I-League match at J N Stadium in Shillong.

Kim Yong gave the home team the lead eight minutes after the break before Nigerian striker Ranti Martin scored one to inflict injury to his former club. T Lalnunpuia, who replaced Steven Dias 10 minutes before the final whistle, scored twice as the visitors were left embarrassed.

United's Eric Brown did not perform as expected by his club even as Baldeep Singh and new recruit Waheed Adekunle were hardly considered a threat for the Rangdajied keeper.

With this win, Rangdajied earned 18 points in their kitty, one point ahead of Mohammedan Sporting and two points below United SC.

Rangdajied have won thrice this season, drawn on four occasions with only East Bengal and Mohammedan Sporting emerging victorious in their Shillong outing.

"We worked hard as we improve our fitness level and we will continue to give our best in our games ahead," Rangdajied coach Herring Shangpliang said.

Rangdajied FC moved up to 11th spot in the I-League table after the win.

Shangpliang made a couple of changes to the side that wrestled Bengaluru FC 3-2 at home last week with Elam Abocha Singh and Yohei Iwasaki coming in for Tomba Singh and T Lalnunpuia.

Rangdajied started the game on an attacking mode with Ranti Martins creating several chances in the first half.

The first big chance of the game fell to Ranti Martins, who was playing against his former team, in the 20th minute. The Nigerian forward, however, failed to get past the United custodian.

Rangdajied skipper Eugeneson Lyngdoh tried his luck from the edge of the box, but saw his shot go over the crossbar. On the other hand, United SC almost took the lead on the counter a few minutes later when a well-constructed move saw Yohei Iwasaki of Rangdajied make a last-gasp clearance to deny the visitors a goal.

The hosts began the second half with continuous forays into the United SC half. The relentless attacking soon bore fruit as Kim Song Yong's shot from long-range finally broke the visitors' resistance, handing Rangdajied a deserved lead.

The Blues continued dominating the game and kept more possession of the ball during the second half.

In the 69th minute, Ranti Martins' shot from the edge of the box went past the United SC custodian, thus doubling Rangdajied's lead.

The game soon slowed down a bit and Rangdajied players happily circulated possession of the ball for most of the next few minutes.

Lalnunpuia soon extended Rangdajied's lead with a close-range finish in the 86th minute.

Lalnunpuia added another for the Blues with a brilliant finish in the last minute of stoppage time, extending his club's lead to four goals to give Rangdajied their biggest ever win in the I-League.

The three points have come as a huge boost for the club's ambitions of staying in the I-League next season.

The Hering Shangpliang-coached side will now take on Kolkata giants Mohun Bagan.