The dream finally crashed out on Sunday at Nehru Stadium, in Shillong. United Sports which was fighting a grim battle to reach the elite I-League next season, had to bow out of the race that was won by Shillong Lajong FC. United SC defeated Ambarnath FC 4-3 in their third match in the final round of the I-League qualifiers on Sunday at home. Tarak Hembram (2), Rahul Purkait, and Subrata Murmu struck the winners. Still, Shillong Lajong FC, being the top on the table with the desired 2-1 victory against Bengaluru United at home on Sunday, ensured their berth in the elite I-League for the next season.

Nabab Bhattacharya, director of United SC was naturally upset. It was a challenging task for Bhattacharya and other club officials to carry on the financial loads of the footballers, the coach, and other infrastructural facilities for such a long time and they have been fulfilling the needs conspicuously even though they do not have any formidable financial assistance. They depend on donations and crowdfunding to accumulate the required money.

Bhattacharya lamented saying, "We actually crashed out of the contest after losing to Delhi FC in our second match. The 'biased' referring became the main villain in the match. Secondly, I personally feel Jiten Murmu's absence in the first 45 minutes of that match was another key factor. Jiten was making a difference in our previous matches in the group league stage. Even he was consistent in other matches. We conceded two goals in the first 45 minutes against Delhi FC. Jiten was substituted after the break and we bounced back."