Shillong: Two injury-hit sides still produced exciting football at times and Shillong Lajong FC held on for a 2-1 victory over Dempo in their Airtel I-League match at the JN Stadium here on Saturday.
Milan Singh opened the scoring for the hosts in the first half, before Jeje Lalpekhlua restored parity for Dempo in the second session. A beautiful Boithang Haokip curler ended up as the winning goal a few minutes later.
Dempo were only fielding the one foreign player in Simon Colosimo, forced to play without the likes of Shinnosuke Honda, Billy Mehmet or Roberto Mendes Silva.
Lajong, for their part, looked a little inexperienced up the front without Uilliams Souza Silva, who is still injured, and Cornell Glen, who picked up four yellow cards in the season.
Most of the action early on was in the Dempo half. Subash Singh and Redeem Tlang were both very impressive and their fleet-footed play was entertaining to watch.
The hosts had at least three corners before Dempo first saw theirs. There was little to do for Lalthuammawia Ralte, Lajong’s goalkeeper, early on, but Holicharan Narzary and Jeje were a good combination for the visitors. Captain Clifford Miranda was also in the mix.
There were half chances aplenty, but a handball in the penalty box finally saw the deadlock broken in the 40th minute.
A lobbed ball into the Dempo box saw Milan Singh and two defenders jostle for possession. One of the visitors gets a hand to the ball and is immediately given a yellow card and Lajong the penalty.
Before the kick could be taken there was pushing and shoving between the two teams and Haokip was awarded a yellow for his part.
The penalty kick itself was completely without drama and Milan stepped up to easily put it past Dempo goalkeeper Laxmikant Kattimani.
SLFC tried to keep up the momentum, but if anything, it was Dempo who tried to counterattack. However, they were unable to script any real openings and the session ended in the hosts’ favour.
Crossing over, the dangerous Jeje, always alert, earned the equaliser 10 minutes after the restart. The ball was played into the Reds’ box and Jeje comfortably guided it past Ralte to make it 1-1.
Just four minutes later, however, Haokip restored the lead for the home team. A foul on the left on Lalchhuanmawia Fanai on the hour mark gave Lajong a perfect chance. 15 yards outside the box, Haokip took the kick, beating all the Reds and Dempo players and the perfectly-curled ball beat the diving Kattimani.
Both teams intensified their attacks, the slender lead not enough for Lajong, while Dempo were in the hunt to restore parity. Substitute Gabriel Fernandes was the most dangerous of the Goan team’s players and a sleepy defence almost allowed him to score in the 72nd minute.
He was later in the thick of the action again, but the visitors just could not find a goal and the match ended 2-1.
