North-East football giant Shillong Lajong on Saturday came from behind to beat Kingfisher East Bengal 2-1 in a thrilling encounter, witnessed by more than 20,000 strong fans at the J N Stadium.
|Last Updated: Feb 11, 2012, 06:50 PM IST|Source: Bureau
Shillong: North-East football giant Shillong Lajong on Saturday came from behind to beat Kingfisher East Bengal 2-1 in a thrilling encounter, witnessed by more than 20,000 strong fans at the J N Stadium here.
EB started confidently and opened the account earlier than they had probably planned.
The breakthrough happened in the fourth minute when Tolga Ozbey cut past Lajong`s defenders, worked his way ahead and scored past the goalkeeper for EB`s solitary goal of the match.
Conceding early, Lajong fought back with determination to gather form which led in two quick successive goals from skipper John Meyongar and Lajong`s finest new mid-fielder Eugeneson Lyngdoh.
They opened and closed the scorebooks in the 12th and 16 minutes respectively.
The rest of the match was a saga of missed chances.
In the second half, Australian Mayora had the best chance to increase Lajong`s lead in the opening minute only to find his ball off the goal post.
EB could have so easily snatched a draw but Lajong`s keeper Soram Poirei proved equal to the challenges inside the box.
In the 82nd and 83rd minutes of the match, Lajong`s energetic Tuboi was provided with a good opportunity at the box.
He however, ended placing the ball straight into the waiting hands of EB goalie Gurpreet Sandhu.
The defeat at the hands of resurgent Lajong could mean an end to EB hope of leading at the top of the table this season.
At the post match conference, Lajong`s coach P Reddy expressed his heart out for the performance of his boys especially at the midfield and the forwards.
According to Reddy, the Lajong-EB match is one of the finest match in Indian I-League.
He said, "Both sides played top class football with top class finishing".
Admitting that the first five minutes were shaky at the back, Reddy however, said, "The movements of Sushil Kumar and Mayora provided gaps for other players like Eugene to utilize the gaps at the opponent`s box".
Reddy said Lajong targets to achieve 40 points tally at the end of the season. Lajong gathered 27 points so far and they have six matches left at the end of 20th round of the prestigious I-League.
EB on the other hand is trailing by two points behind Mohun Bagan in the table.
"It is going to be difficult to dream for the title this year," EB coach T J Morgan said adding that, "but you never know what will happen in football".
EB has six games left in its kitty and if Dempo manage a win, EB will be trailing by eight points behind in the table.
PTI
By clicking “Accept All Cookies”, you agree to the storing of cookies on your device to enhance site navigation, analyze site usage, and assist in our marketing efforts.
Cookies Setting
By clicking “Accept All Cookies”, you agree to the storing of cookies on your device and the processing of information obtained via those cookies (including about your preferences, device and online activity) by us and our commercial partners to enhance site navigation, personalise ads, analyze site usage, and assist in our marketing efforts. More information can be found in our Cookies and Privacy Policy. You can amend your cookie settings to reject non-essential cookies by clicking Cookie Settings below.
Manage Consent Preferences
Strictly Necessary Cookies
These cookies are necessary for the website to function and cannot be switched off in our systems. They are usually only set in response to actions made by you which amount to a request for services, such as setting your privacy preferences, logging in or filling in forms. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not then work or you may not be able to login.
Functional Cookies
These cookies enable the website to provide enhanced functionality and personalisation. They may be set by us or by third party providers whose services we have added to our pages. If you do not allow these cookies then some or all of these services may not function properly.
Targeting Cookies
These cookies may be set through our site by our advertising partners. They may be used by those companies to build a profile of your interests and show you relevant adverts on other sites. They are also used to limit the number of times you see an advert as well as help measure the effectiveness of an advertising campaign. They do not store directly personal information, but are based on uniquely identifying your browser and internet device. If you do not allow these cookies, you will experience less targeted advertising.
Performance Cookies
These cookies allow us to count visits and traffic sources so we can measure and improve the performance of our site. They help us to know which pages are the most and least popular and see how visitors move around the site. All information these cookies collect is aggregated and therefore anonymous. If you do not allow these cookies we may not know when you have visited our site, and may not be able to monitor its performance.