I-League 2023-24: Rajasthan United edge past TRAU FC in nine goal thriller

Richardson Kwaku Denzell scored a hat-trick.

Rajasthan United FC executed a comeback for the ages as they overturned a three-goal deficit to defeat TRAU FC 5-4 at the Kalyani Stadium on Friday, December 22, 2023.

With both teams lingering in the lower rungs of the table and fighting to avoid the drop, the match held great significance for them. Four of the first five goals were scored by bottom side TRAU, who thought they had the match wrapped up when they led 4-1 in the 55th minute after strikes from Abraham Okyere, Danish Aribam, Deepak Singh and an own goal from Jefferson de Oliveira.

However, Rajasthan United had other plans. They turned the game on its head in no time with their usual suspect Richardson Kwaku Denzell netting two quickfire goals to reduce the deficit to one. But the real problems for TRAU began when they went a man down after Okyere was sent off for picking up a second yellow.

Defender Novin Gurung restored parity in the 85th minute before Denzell completed his hat-trick and the Desert Warriors’ sensational comeback to win it 5-4. The Ghanaian teenager has now scored in each of his last six matches, taking his season’s tally to 10 goals, only behind top-scorer Alex Sanchez of Gokulam Kerala with 12.

Rajasthan United’s second win on the trot sees them end the year in 10th place with 12 points from 11 games. They will now switch their attention to the Kalinga Super Cup qualifying play-off against Inter Kashi on January 8 in Bhubaneswar. On the other hand, the gut-wrenching defeat has opened up an eight-point gap to safety for TRAU, who remain rooted in 13th place.

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