NEW DELHI, Feb 22: Sudeva Delhi’s run of eight winless games in the I-League came to an end with an emphatic 4-1 victory over TRAU FC here on Wednesday.
This was their first win at home this season.
A completely different approach by Sankarlal Chakraborty’s men meant that Sudeva Delhi never really looked like bottom-dwellers against fourth-placed TRAU.
It took them a little over 30 minutes to break the deadlock through R Lalbiakliana (31′), with Sielenthang Lotjem (34′) doubling the lead just minutes later.
Bidyananda Singh (42′) pulled one back for TRAU just ahead of the breather, but Alexis Gomez (57′ penalty) and Hriivei Pao (69′) netted two more goals to give the hosts a comfortable win.
It was TRAU who started the game with an attacking intent and even came close to opening the scores early on in the third minute, but Sudeva captain Priyant Kumar Singh got a hand on the cutback from Gerson Vieira, who was looking to put the ball into the path of a waiting Fernandinho at the far post.
It did not take Sudeva too long to get a grasp of their opposition and take control of the game.
Sudeva soon got back-to-back corners and it was from the second of these corners that Shavkati Khotam found Lalbiakliana, who was lurking unmarked inside the box. The 18-year-old made no mistake as he put the ball into the back of the net with a powerful header.
The hosts doubled their advantage four minutes later, when Gomez found some space outside the penalty area and produced a defence-splitting pass for Seilenthang Lotjem, who calmly finished it past the keeper.
The visitors got one back in the 42nd minute, when Bidyananda Singh’s low shot on goal hit the inside of the post before going in. TRAU looked to be clawing back into the game when an altercation on the pitch meant that several players received bookings from referee K Ramdasan. Salam Johnson Singh was sent off.
The man advantage worked well for Sudeva in the second half, and Gomez won a penalty 10 minutes after the restart after being fouled by Bidyananda inside the box. The Argentine stepped up and sent the opposition keeper the wrong way, restoring the two-goal lead.
With a little over 20 minutes of regulation time left, substitute Hriivei Carlos Pao added a fourth, after Lalbiakliana found him with a wonderful pass. (PTI)
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