Margao: Fresh from their win over Chirag United, a confident Shillong Lajong will have a tough task at hand when they take on in-form Salgaocar in the last round encounter of the first leg of the I-League at the Nehru Stadium in Fatorda on Wednesday.
Lajong and Salgaocar are both on 16 points with the latter ahead in the table by goal difference.
Pradyum Reddy’s boys would be seeking revenge from Salgaocar who defeated them in the semifinal of the Federation Cup. However, Lajong would be wary of hosts Salgaocar who drubbed East Bengal 4-0 in their last match. Salgaocar garnered seven points from last thrre matches they played and would look to maintain the momentum.
The hosts’ defence will be bolstered by the return of Brazilian Luciano Sobrosa. But they will miss defender Biswajit Saha because of the red card he received at the fag end of the match against East Bengal. “The win against East Bengal has done lot of good to the confidence,” Bencherifa said.
“Lajong are an unpredictable side and capable of beating any side on a given day. We need to be careful against them and play the same way we played against East Bengal and collect full points and end the first phase on a winning note to improve our standing,” he added.
Prayag shock Dempo 2-1
Prayag United scored a goal in each half to shock Dempo 2-1 and finish their first leg I-League engagement on a high note at the Nehru Stadium in Margao on Tuesday.
The visitors, who led 1-0 in the first half, scored through Josimar Da Silva Martins in the seventh minute, capitalising on a defensive lapse and later through Gouranga Biswas in the 78th minute.
The defeat meant that Dempo remained on 27 points and in danger of losing their top spot to Churchill Brothers at the end of the first leg.
Prayag took their tally to 21 points from 13 matches.
Pune FC defeat
Mohun Bagan 2-1
Hosts Pune FC rallied from a goal down to defeat Kolkata giants Mohun Bagan 2-1. The visitors, who took the lead in the 22nd minute through striker Odafa Okolie, were made to pay for their over-dependence on the Nigerian by an outfit that played as a team. Indian striker Jeje Lalpeklua restored parity for the hosts in the 36th minute with the two teams tied 1-1 at half-time.
Eleven minutes into the second half, Lester Fernandes struck the decisive goal to turn the game in Pune FC’s favour.
The victory takes Pune FC to 22 points from 13 matches, while Bagan stay two points ahead from same number of matches. (PTI)