Babatunde strike sinks South United

Foreign recruits made all the difference on the day with Vasco Sports Club’s Nigerian Babatunde John Oladeef netting the all-important goal in the Goan side’s 1-0 win over South United Football Club in their Second Division I-League match here on Wednesday.

Babatunde found the target in the 78th minute in the Group ‘C’ encounter at the Bangalore Football Stadium, delivering a severe jolt to South United’s aspirations. The win took Vasco’s tally to four points after their 1-1 draw against Southern Samity.

SUFC, on the other hand, suffered their second loss in as many games having gone down 3-4 to Luangmual FC in their opener.  “I think as a professional side it is important to have foreigners in the squad. Our foreign players made the difference today,” said Vasco coach Subrata Bhattacharya.

Local outfit SUFC relies on home-based talent and struggled to match a Vasco side that featured four foreign players — Nigerians Babatunde and Emmanuel Ejigou Chinedu, Ghanian Stephen Dffei and Australian German Cabrera, who came on as a substitute.

Compared to their first outing, SUFC did come up with an improved display. Their second choice keeper Razakh, who made a crucial error in their last tie against Luangmual, came up with a solid performance while their defence too chipped in.

Vasco, however, controlled the match and enjoyed a lion’s share of the possession.
Forwards Babatunde and Emmanuel troubled the SUFC back four but were unlucky not to open their account in the first half. Vasco came close to scoring in the 35th minute when Angelo Colaco, fired a low volley which took a deflection from Razakh before Jayanta Raj Banshi came up with a goalline save. After the break, SUFC seemed to be fighting for a draw while Vasco bolstered their frontline by promoting their defender Dffei. The move paid dividends as Babatunde, after collecting a long pass from the former HASC player J Murali, found the target.

Second win for KGF

Meanwhile, KGF Academy outplayed George Telegraph 3-1 for their second win in their Group ‘A’ encounter at Singrauli. The win took KGF’s tally to seven points from three matches. Inola David (28th), Rajesh (52nd) and Inola Ifieyme (69th) found the target for KGF while Ochi Michael (32nd) reduced the margin for Telegraph.

Thursday’s matches: Southern Samity vs Eagles FC (1.30 pm); Kalighat Milan Sangha FC vs Mumbai Tigers (4.00 pm).