A stoppage-time strike from Amadou Soukouna secured a dramatic 3-2 victory for Rajasthan United FC over Namdhari Sports Academy in an Indian Football League 2025-26 match at the Vidhyadhar Nagar Stadium on Friday.
Soukouna opened the scoring in the 13th minute, while Pedro Astray doubled the advantage in the 57th minute as the home side controlled large periods of the contest.
Namdhari staged a late comeback in the closing stages. Manvir Singh reduced the deficit in the 83rd minute before Najib Ibrahim equalised in the 90th minute to bring the visitors level.
However, Soukouna struck again in the sixth minute of stoppage time to seal Rajasthan United’s first win of the season.
With the victory, Rajasthan United moved to fourth place in the standings with three points from as many matches. Namdhari remain ninth with two points from three games.
Rajasthan United head coach Vikrant Sharma made five changes for his first home game of the campaign, introducing Gautam Virwani, Thomyo L. Shimray, Joseph Lalvenhina, Jonathan Reis and Abdul Samed Ango into the starting lineup.
Namdhari head coach Harpreet Singh made one change, with forward Abdoulaye Diallo replacing midfielder Adersh Mattummal.
The home side took the lead early after Soukouna chased a long ball and pressured defender Gurshan Singh. The centre-back’s attempted clearance lacked conviction, allowing Soukouna to poke the ball past goalkeeper Niraj Kumar from close range.
Soukouna nearly doubled his tally soon after, but Lamine Moro cleared his effort off the line.
Rajasthan United continued to create chances, with Astray striking the post from distance while right-back Shafeel PP forced a fingertip save from Niraj Kumar.
Namdhari gradually settled into the match and created opportunities from set-pieces. Najib Ibrahim narrowly missed connecting with a knockdown from Moro following a free-kick delivered by Kamalpreet Singh. Moro also saw a header from a corner cleared off the line.
Rajasthan captain and goalkeeper Bhabindra Malla Thakuri produced two key saves in the first half, first palming away a direct free-kick from Seilenthang Lotjem and later diving to deny Jaskaranpreet Singh from the edge of the box.
Early in the second half, Niraj Kumar produced a strong save to keep out Astray’s free-kick. However, Rajasthan doubled their lead in the 57th minute when Jonathan Reis forced a save with a curling shot. Astray reacted quickest to the rebound and calmly slotted the ball home.
Namdhari’s task became harder when defender Lamine Moro was sent off after receiving two yellow cards in quick succession.
Despite being reduced to 10 men, the visitors mounted a late fightback. Manvir Singh pulled one back after beating the offside trap and finishing past the advancing goalkeeper.
Seven minutes later, Namdhari drew level when Jaskaranpreet Singh delivered a low cross across the six-yard box and Najib Ibrahim finished from close range.
With the match heading toward a draw, Rajasthan United produced one final attack in stoppage time. A long ball into the area was headed by Gursimrat Singh into Soukouna’s path, and the forward rose above his marker to head home the decisive goal.
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