Kolkata: Roundglass Punjab FC had it easy as they defeated debutant team Rajasthan United by 2-0 in I-League 2021-22. As for the defending champions Gokulam Kerala FC, they began their Hero I-League title defence with a 1- 0 win over last season’s runners-up Churchill Brothers at the Kalyani Stadium on Sunday ( December 6).
Rajasthan United went for their opening match with a major disadvantage as they could field only nine players, following their failure to register players. Punjab FC were in for a treat. The players of Rajasthan had no prior I-league experience and neither had any chance of substitution.
Kurtis Owens Guthrie opened the scoring for Roundglass Punjab in 27 minutes. The new team, with a numerical disadvantage, did well to contain Punjab for a major part of the game. Although, Punjab got their much-awaited lead extension through youngster Aphaoba Singh on the 90-minute mark.
For the defending champions, their skipper Sharif Mohammad scored the lone goal of the match from the spot early into the first half. Ngangom Ronald Singh surged ahead with the ball into the opposition box, it was when he was brought down by the challenge from Shadi Skaf.
Gokulam Kerala skipper Sharif stepped forward to take the resultant spot-kick and with an utmost cool mind, slotted the ball into the bottom left corner of the net to give his team the advantage. As for Indian Arrows and Tiddim Road Athletic Union FC, the lackluster match ended in a goalless draw.
