Kolkata: United SC rode on a Shylo Malswam Tulunga second-half strike to return to winning ways with a 2-1 victory over Pailan Arrows in their round 23 I-League return-leg fixture at the Yuba Bharati Krirangan here on Thursday.
Yusif Yakubu gave an early lead in the fifth minute when he played a one-two with fellow striker Joshimar D’Silva, with leaving the Arrows keeper Naveen Kumar with no chance.
The Arrows had a chance to equalise when C S Sabeeth missed an open header off a pass from Tirthankar Sarkar from the left. But the AIFF developmental oufit found a 62nd minute equaliser with Prabir Das setting it up for Sabeeth who headed home.
The Arrows’ joy, however, lasted just three minutes as Malsawm Tulunga showed his class with a clever tap from Yakubu’s pass that foxed Naveen Kumar for the match-winning goal.
The Arrows resorted to counter attack resulting in a 77th minute strike from substitute Bikramjit Singh (Sr) but it hit the post.
The win helped United SC climb to seventh position with 38 points, while Arrows remained winless with eight points from 20 outings.
Sporting beat Air India 2-0
Sporting Clube de Goa scraped past Air India 2-0 as Anthony D’Souza scored a brace for his team in the I-League at the Balewadi Sports Complex here Thursday. Anthony scored the first goal in the 75th minute and then sealed the win for his team in injury time. Sporting moved to 37 points from 23 matches while Air India stays on 28 points from 23 matches.
Sporting striker James Moga created quite a few opportunities, but it was finally in the 75th minute when he moved from the right with Mackroy Peixote and Dawson Fernandes in tow that Sporting Clube spilt the Air India defence. Anthony D’Souza pounced on the chance and let the ball find the back of the net to give Sporting the much needed goal. (Agencies)