United Sport Club edge rivals United Kerala 1-0

Kolkata: United Sport Club scored a facile 1-0 win over bitter foes United Kerala in their grudge match in the 15th-round of the I-League at the Yuba Bharati Krirangan on Thursday.

United SC's foreign recruit Kayne Vincent scored the winner in the 14th minute as the Kerala outfit struggled to come to terms with their opponents play.

In what was termed as a mini derby, the match proved to be an insipid affair after the local challengers took the early lead.

Having conceded an easy goal, United Kerala were forced to replace their goalkeeper K Sharath with an experienced Arindam Ghosh, who is recovering from an injury.

But United SC had a defensive approach in the second-half as there was no addition to the tally.

The Kerala outfit had a solitary chance to go one up in the third minute but G Vigensh's shot was saved by an alert Abhijit Mondal.

But United soon scored the decisive goal when Vincent's sharp right-footer from a long pass by C Rao was beyond their rookie goalkeeper's reach.

It was sweet revenge for the Sanjoy Sen-coached United SC, who had suffered a 1-2 away loss against the Kerala rivals in the first leg.

United SC now have 25 points, while United Kerala remained in the relegation zone with 11.