Chandigarh, January 17
RoundGlass Punjab FC (RGPFC) suffered their second loss of the season as they face a (0-4) defeat against hosts Sreenidi Deccan FC (SDFC) in the Round 12 fixture of the I-League played at the Deccan Arena.
With this loss, RGPFC moved down to second position on the points table, while Sreenidi Deccan claimed the top spot. David Munoz scored one in each half, while Shahabaaz and Soraisham Dinesh Singh scored other goals for the home side.
RGPFC coach Staikos Vergetis made four changes to the starting line-up with Freddy Lallawmawma, Deepak Devrani, Pranjal Bhumij and new signing Chencho Gyeltshen starting instead of Hmingthanmawia, Krishnananda Singh, Ashis Pradhan and Juan Mera. Sreenidi coach Carlos Manuel fielded his strong side for the crucial match and the decision brought a one-sided victory for the hosts.
The hosts started the first half on the front foot and controlled the game from the beginning. They put the RGPFC defence and midfield under relentless pressure. Sreenidi broke the deadlock in the 13th minute. Left back Shahabaaz took advantage of a mistake committed by RGPFC custodian Kiran Kumar Limbu. He just rolled the ball inside the empty net to claim the net. RGPFC was put under further pressure when the hosts doubled the lead in the 31st minute.
Munoz, thereafter, planned the second goal. He found a perfect pass from Afghan midfielder Faysal Shayesteh before launching a power pack shot. His shot was saved by keeper Limbu, but the rebound fell kindly for Spaniard, who tapped in the goal to take his tally of the season to 10 goals and gave his team a two-goal lead.
The second half also saw a similar pattern of play from both sides. Sreenidi captain Munoz was becoming a menace for the RGPFC defence. His powerful shot from outside the box was acrobatically saved by Limbu, but the resultant corner brought the third goal for the home side in the 62nd minute. Central defender Soraisham leaped above everyone to plant a header past the keeper. The RGPFC coach brought in changes and introduced Juan Mera, Krishnananda, Pradhan, Daniel Lalhlimpuia and Maheson Singh to influence the game.
RGPFC looked better in attack with Mera and Krishnananda going forward but they could not find any clear-cut opportunities to score or trouble Sreenidi goalkeeper Ubaid CK Munoz. He added more misery for RGPFC when he scored his second and the team’s fourth goal in the 88th minute.
