Prayag United’s Yusif Yakubu after scoring one of his two goals against Mumbai FC, at the Salt Lake Stadium. A Telegraph picture

Calcutta: Prayag United SC knocked Mumbai FC out of the IFA Shield with a thrilling 3-2 win in a group D match, at the Salt Lake Stadium, on Wednesday.

Yusif Yakubu put United SC into the lead after Denson Devadas cancelled out Gbeneme Friday’s first-half opener. Malaswm Kima then brought Mumbai back into the match with a late goal, before Yakubu scored his second and United SC’s third in a breathless second half.

The win means that United SC now need only a draw in their match against Aryan, on Saturday, to qualify for the next round.

Mumbai FC, meanwhile are out of the competition after sharing a goal and a point apiece with Aryan earlier on Monday.

Mumbai FC packed their midfield with a 3-5-2 formation as they attempted to prevent United SC from building meaningful attacks. The move worked as the home team struggled to penetrate the midfield.

Friday gave his side the lead in the 24th minute with a brilliantly constructed move. Nicholas Rodrigues sent in a fantastic cross from the left and Friday’s header went just over the goalkeeper. The assist and the finish smacked of class. A minute later Yakubu had a goal disallowed, with the referee deeming his position offside.

In the second half, however, Yakubu dropped back to support the midfield. The move resulted in a flurry of opportunities going the city team’s way. In the 69th minute, Justine Stephen headed a wayward Jayanta Sen corner into the penalty box. Denson obliged with an accurate header.

In the 79th minute, United took the lead, when Yakubu headed in Deepak Kumar Mondal’s free kick.

Soon, Kima brought his side level after he latched on to a Sukore Theophilus header inside the penalty box.

Yakubu then sealed the issue in the 87th minute, when Mohammed Rafique beat substitute Faizal Rehman for pace to send in the assist. The Ghanaian’s easiest of tap-ins completed the remarkable comeback.

TEAMS

United SC: Abhijit Mondal, Deepak Kumar Mondal, Justine Stephen, Bello Rasaq, Sukhen Dey, James Singh (Kayne Vincent 52), Lalkamal Bhowmick (Jayanta Sen 41), Denson Devadas, Gouranga Biswas (Joychandra Singh 64), Mohammed Rafique, Yusif Yakubu.

Mumbai FC: Sanjiban Ghosh, Abhishek Yadav, Dhanachandra Singh, Peter Costa, Cavin Lobo, Malaswm Kima, Sukore Theophlius, Haroon Amari, Nicholas Rodrigues, Lalwm Puia (Faizal Rehman 54), Gbeneme Friday.

Referee: Ajit Metei

MoM: Yusif Yakubu