SHILLONG: A solitary goal from Anthony Wolfe was all that separated hosts Churchill Brothers and Rangdajied United FC when the two sides clashed in Vasco, Goa, on Tuesday as the I-League began the second phase of the season.

By dint of this victory the new Federation Cup champions clawed their way out of the relegation zone with the 56th minute goal, thereby making Rangdajied once again occupy last place in the standings.

The Blues played adventurous football and all three new signings – Rehnesh TP, Sushant Mathew and Steven Dias – got a look-in, but the cumulative effort was still lacking as the second I-League team from Shillong suffered their seventh defeat of the season.

It was also the club’s first loss in four away matches, the last being to Pune FC on October 27, which was also the last game in the I-League where Rangdajied failed to score.

The visitors had a few chances in the first half, with Dias’s shot going wide and Yohei Iwasaki’s free kick also missing the mark.

Churchill’s new signing Christian Lagos struck the bar but, otherwise, the two teams did not look all that threatening.

The Goan team, who are defending I-League champions, drew blood early on in the second half when Lagos won a penalty in the 51st minute.

A cross from the right saw the Costa Rican trap the ball neatly but Rehnesh’s acrobatic attempt to intercept the ball was deemed to be too dangerous.

Wolfe took the spot kick and while Rehnesh saved the shot, he could not prevent Wolfe tapping in the resulting rebound.

Blues’ coach Santosh Kashyap later made a double substitution, but his team lacked real punch in their attacks.

They earned a couple of half chances, with captain Eugeneson Lyngdoh’s free kick being saved by Churchill goalkeeper Lalit Thapa and Iwasaki’s attempt also stopped by the rival custodian, which ensured that Churchill escaped with a narrow 1-0 win.

Rangdajied will now stay in Goa in preparation for their February 15 match against Dempo SC.

On that day Churchill will be in action in Kolkata against East Bengal.

The day before will see United SC take on Mumbai FC as the I-League fully gets going once again.

Shillong Lajong FC, meanwhile, will play the first of five away matches at a stretch in Kolkata against Mohammedan Sporting on February 16.

While Rangdajied will play their first home match after the restart on March 1, Lajong fans will have to wait until March 23 to see their team in action at home again.

Senior team lose to Churchill Brothers, U-19s go down to Lajong

eneration of football stars from the region demonstrated their talent as the U-19 North East Zone of the I-League got underway at the JN Stadium, Polo, on Tuesday, with Shillong Lajong defeating Rangdajied United 2-1.

While still a little rough around the edges, the boys of both teams demonstrated a lot of passion on the field of play.

The junior Reds had the majority of the possession but did not dominate their opponents.

Shaiborlang Kharpan scored twice for the winners, while Reson Malngiang pulled one back in the second half for Rangdajied.

Kharpan headed the ball in for the first goal in the 13th minute following a cross from Sandeep Singh.

Just six minutes later, Lajong made it 2-0 with Kharpan rounding the goalkeeper and putting the ball into the net.

Towards the end of the first half, Rangdajied pressed more aggressively, but SLFC held on to their two-goal lead going into the break.

Lajong made a couple of good plays in the second half as well, but could not add to their tally.

Bipin Singh proved to be alert up at front, but skewed two of his chances wide of the net.

In the 77th minute Malngiang demonstrated Rangdajied’s resolve not to let the match go without a fight as he scored with a powerful kick from the left flank that beat Lajong’s goalkeeper.

The junior Blues fought hard for the equaliser, but were held off by their city rivals.

Royals play today

Meanwhile, on Wednesday, Royal Wahingdoh will kick off their U-19 campaign with a match against Green Valley of Assam at the JN Stadium at 1:00pm.

With just one team from the zone progressing to the next round, Wahingdoh will need to start on a positive note in order to keep up with early leaders Lajong.