2nd Div I-League
By Our Reporter
SHILLONG: In a reversal of fortunes, Royal Wahingdoh FC beat United Sikkim 2-0, the same margin by which Bhutia’s men edged the Royals in their previous encounter, in a second leg match of the I-League Second Division final round played at Gangtok on Friday.
On a roll, Wahingdoh has not looked back since its controversial defeat to ONGC, when the Club had to surrender its points despite winning the match for fielding four foreign players at the same time.
On Friday, Kareem Omolaja (28th minute) and Chencho (78th minute) scored one a piece on either half of the match to drive Wahing doh home.
The win against United Sikkim makes it three in a row for Wahingdoh who now stand second only to ONGC in the points tally with 13 points in their kitty. United Sikkim, meanwhile, moved down to the third spot with 13 points.
Elated with the victory which came as a sweet revenge for RWFC, coach Carlton Chapman said that the win has strengthened the team’s chances to qualify for the I-League.
“With five more matches to go, we hope to continue this good run which can secure our berth (for I-League),” Chapman added.
Earlier, Wahingdoh dominated the proceedings of the match from the word go. The Royals created several opportunities during the initial stages of the match but failed to capitalize on them. Finally it was in the 28th minute that the Shillong side was awarded a free kick and specialist Kareem Omolaja made no mistake to net one from outside the box to give RWFC a 1-0 lead.
Crossing over, Wahingdoh were relentless in their efforts and put Bhutia’s men in the back foot with some ‘electrifying football’. Jackiechand Singh could have made it to 2-0 but missed a golden opportunity midway through the second half.
Finally it was a brilliant through ball from Perry S Kolie who tapped it to Bhutanese midfielder Chencho who scored in the 78th minute to guide RWFC to a memorable 2-0 victory over United Sikkim.
The vitory is crucial given the fact that the team from Sikkim has been a serious contender all along.
Chapman’s boys play their next match against bottom-placed Aizawl FC on April 1.
