By Our Reporter
SHILLONG: Shillong Lajong FC (SLFC) displayed some magic football as they came from behind to record a major upset defeating title contenders East Bengal 2-1 in a crucial Round 20 match of the I-League 2011-12 season at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, Polo on Saturday.
The match got off to an electrifying start as the visitors went aggressively right from the word go.
The Kolkata giant drew first blood in the fourth minutes itself after its star Australian striker Tolgay Ozbeynetted the ball following a rebound off Lajong custodian Soram Poirei Angamba.
The home team then pushed very hard to get back into the match. Their hard work paid off when skipper John Menyongar scored the equalizer in the 12th minute to level the score.
Four minutes later, the home fans rose to their feet with wild cheers as local boy Eugeneson Lyngdoh found the net from a lovely through ball by C Lallawmzuala to push Lajong into a 2-1 lead.
Both the Lajong goals came at a time when East Bengal players were dictating the pace of the game.
The Kolkata side which had maximum of the ball possession, pressed hard for an equalizer but the Lajong defense were up to the task denying East Bengal strikers any real openings to score.
The Kolkata team missed a couple of chances to score in the first half – first in the 20th minute when Sushanth Mathew’s powerful strike from outside the box missed the Lajong goal by a whisker. Again in the 33rd minute a Robin Singh shot was saved by the young Lajong custodian.
After the lemon break, the Kolkata giant continued with maximum control of the ball and most of their players moved to the front in the quest for an equalizer, giving the home team several scoring opportunities in the counter attack.
Menyongar could have easily made it 3-1 for Lajong but failed to score in the 59th minute when his powerful right footer was intercepted by the East Bengal custodian Gurpreet Singh Sandhu.
Seikhohao Tuboi, who was introduced in the later part of the second half, got two golden opportunities to score. His first scoring opportunity came and went in the 76th minute after his diving header missed the goal by a small distance. Eight minutes later, Tuboi was again in the thick of action but his powerful header was brilliantly saved by goalkeeper Sandhu.
As luck would have it, East Bengal missed a sweet chance to level the match in the closing stages of the game after Tolgay Ozbey’s header rebounded off the goal post much to the joy of the huge local crowd.
Lajong held on to their lead for the remaining duration of the match to carve a memorable win.
The 2-1 victory is a sort of revenge for the home team who were earlier defeated by East Bengal 0-2 at Kolkata during the first leg last year.
The win was also the first one at home for Lajong who had earlier lost to Dempo FC and Churchill Brothers in their previous outings at home. The Shillong side was also hold to a 1-1 draw by Pune FC in their last home game.
On the other hand, this defeat has come as a major setback for East Bengal’s title aspirations as the Kolakata side slipped down to the third spot in the points table.
East Bengal remained on 35 points from 20 matches while Lajong now have 27 points from the same number of matches.
Lajong coach Pradhyum Reddy was jubilant at the outcome of the match.
“Even though the boys began on a shaky note by conceding a goal in the first five minutes, they managed to come back very strongly,” Reddy said after the match.
He also gave full credit to the young Lajong defense for maintaining their composure despite being under tremendous pressure playing in front of a huge crowd.
The Lajong coach was also all praise for local striker Eugeneson Lyngdoh, terming his goal on Saturday as the best of the lot this season.
Meanwhile, East Bengal coach Trevor James Morgan admitted that the defeat was a major setback for his team, even as he stated that they were out of the title race following the defeat on Saturday.
“The lack of quality on the part of my players led to our defeat. Perhaps, luck was another factor which cost us the game. We could have easily equalized if the ball had not hit the goal post in the closing stages of the match,” a dejected Morgan added.