I-League: Real Kashmir beat Rajasthan United to open account

Real Kashmir began their I-League 2024-25 season with a 2-0 victory over Rajasthan United FC at the TRC Ground, on Sunday, November 24, 2024. Both goals came in the first half.

Mohammad Inam (11’) and Senegal recruit Elhadi Abdou Karim Samb (28’) scored the two goals for the Snow Leopards, who finished fifth in the I-League table last season.

Real Kashmir had a dream start to their season when the wily Inam was played through on the left by Samb. The winger attempted a hard, low cross, which took a deflection before bobbing into the goal, completely wrong-footing the goalkeeper.

With the advantage on the cards, Real Kashmir looked to sit back and capitalise on any mistakes by Rajasthan. Samb ran into some space as he was played behind the Rajasthan defence, but was bundled over just outside the box. While the hosts could not capitalise on the resulting free-kick, they were soon to have other opportunities.

Samb was the biggest beneficiary of this plot in the 28th minute when he intercepted a back-pass by Rajasthan defender Wayne Vaz and poked it past goalkeeper James Kithan to double the home side’s advantage.

With a two-goal cushion on their hands, Real Kashmir slowed the pace of the game, choosing to be patient in their approach till the end of the first half. Once they came out after the break, though the home side were at their opponents again.

They relied heavily on their wingers to stretch the play and bombard the Rajasthan box with crosses, a ploy that did cause some trouble to the latter. Samb could have had a hat trick with pin-point crosses coming in from the left.

Mohd. Aqib’s low, hard cross from the left flank was straight at Samb, who had crept into some space at the near post. He had just the goalkeeper Kithan to beat, but the latter did well to cover the angle and get a hand to the shot.

Real Kashmir were thoroughly in control of the game during this period, and captain Kamal Issah could well have added one more, after being played through behind the defence, with just the goalkeeper to beat. However, Issah’s effort landed in the galleries.

Samb had his third chance in the 79th when a deep cross came in from the left. However, The unmarked striker mistimed his header, which lacked the required power to trouble Kithan.

Inam was a constant thorn in the Rajasthan flesh – especially their right side. His frequent change of pace and trickery meant that Real Kashmir could make multiple forays into the opposition area, especially on the counter.

While Rajasthan did show some intent in the dying minutes, the hosts were in too comfortable a position to ease their grip on the game, as Real Kashmir notched their first victory of the 2024-25 I-League season.

Shillong Lajong steal a draw against Churchill Brothers

Shillong Lajong, on the other hand, overturned a two-goal deficit to grab a point against Churchill Brothers at the SSA Stadium in Shillong on Sunday.

Churchill seized control of the game early, their midfield outpacing, outthinking and outworking the hosts. In the 14th minute, they took a deserved lead via Wayde Lekay. Played through via Colombian Sebastian Gutierrez’s lobbed ball, the South African outmuscled defender Aman Ahlawat before lobbing the goalkeeper to give Churchill the lead.

Seven minutes later they had doubled it. Lekay again was the scorer, his quick thinking when offside outwitting Lajong’s high line defence who were looking for the flag. Lekay had ignored the first pass though and Gutierrez instead picked it up on the left wing. His low cross to the near post was finished brilliantly by an onrushing Lekay.

Despite facing a two-goal deficit, Lajong never let their attacking instincts wilt, and an eager crowd did not let them forget it either. The combined effort paid dividends in the 35th minute, Hardy Cliff Nongbiri winning a contested ball, and Brazilian Renan Paulinho squaring it from the right, to fellow countryman Douglas Tardin at the top of the box. Tardin took a brilliant first touch, turned and slotted it into the bottom corner all in one motion. The hosts were back in the game.

The goal got Lajong in the mood for more, and soon enough Churchill were staving off wave after wave of Lajong attacks. Tardin had another chance, this time the ball falling to him from the left wing. Again he turned and let fly early, the ball drifting just wide of the far post.

They got their deserved equaliser in the 50th, the roles between provider and scorer reversed. From a quick throw-in, Lajong played a series of smart one-twos before Tardin laid it off for Paulinho inside the box, who guided a first-time finish into the bottom corner.

Despite the attacking endeavours of both teams, neither could break the deadlock, the final quarter of the game an end-to-end affair that lacked quality in the final third. In the end, a point each was a fair result.