Prayag United SC downed Mohun Bagan 2-1 in the second round of the I-League here at the Salt Lake Stadium on Friday.
Its emerging strength was defined in the manner United SC erased a goal’s difference and crafted its way to a win scoring twice in the first half against the traditional giant.
Looking for a win, Mohun Bagan pressed for attack from the start keeping the highest paid striker of the country, Nigerian Okolie Odafa, in the lead. The player justified his team’s faith finding the goal in the 19th minute but a permeable defence put paid to the fine effort as Khelemba Meitei committed the cardinal error of miscuing a clearance into his own goal (1-1).
Effective combination
The supremacy of United SC was defined by the effective combination of the three foreigners in the United SC attack — Nigerian Ranty Martins, Costa Rican Carlos Hernandes and New Zealander Kayne Vincent — who shattered Mohun Bagan’s defence with nice variations. Vincent scored the winner in the last minute of the first half to complete the dominance that United SC has been seeking with the formation of a multi-crore team this season.
United SC found the eaqualiser in the 27th minute when the Bagan defender Meitei made the error trying to clear ahead of an onrushing Ranty Martins. The Nigerian striker was in the thick of things when he weaved through the Mohun Bagan defence and set up Vincent only to chip it over the approaching Arindam Bhattacharya. United SC bolstered its defence after the break and effectively held back the Mohun Bagan attackers. United SC tallied full six points from two wins while Mohun Bagan remained at the bottom with two losses.
The result: Prayag United SC 2 (Khelemba Meitei (own goal) 27, Kayne Vincent 45) bt Mohun Bagan 1(Okolie Odafa 19).
