SLFC take on Mumbai FC in Pune
By Our Reporter
SHILLONG: Under pressure after two consecutive defeats, Shillong Lajong FC have a chance to redeem themselves when they take on Mumbai FC in a Round 23 match of the I-League in Pune on Wednesday.
Lajong had a disappointing outing in their last tie when they went down to Sporting Clube de Goa 0-1 at home, much to the dismay of the local fans. The defeat also meant that Lajong had to forego their projected target of 40 points by the end of the season.
Also with an unimpressive show of late by most of its players, North East’s premier club would have a point to prove and much to play for at the Balewadi Sports Complex Stadium on Wednesday.
“Looking forward to put an end to the bad run and get back to winning ways,” Lajong coach Pradhyum Reddy told The Shillong Times. A victory would put Lajong ahead of Air India, at least for the next 24 hours, and technically put them out of the relegation zone. A defeat on the other hand would leave a scope for teams like Mumbai FC (17 points) and Chirag United (17 points) to pull off a miracle and go ahead of Lajong, in case the Reds happen to lose the remaining of their matches, by the end of the season.
“Even though Mumbai are staring at relegation, they still have a chance to turn things around by the end of the season.
“A draw would be enough to keep them below us. Having said that, we obviously would go all out for the full three points tomorrow,” Reddy said.
The Lajong coach, meanwhile, did not reveal the starting eleven for Wednesday’s encounter.
“Chitra (Chitrasen Singh) was impressive in the last match. With Lalram Luaha back we would look to accomodate both of them in the starting eleven. However a final decision would be taken before the match,” Reddy said. S Tuboi could miss out at Balewadi due to a minor hamstring injury.
Meanwhile, stuck at the bottom of the standings for quite some time, Mumbai FC face an ardous task of lifting their game and morale as they get ready to host Lajong. Mumbai FC have a lot of work to do if they hope to come out of the relegation zone.
Also, Mumbai FC will remember their 1-2 loss against Lajong in the away tie in Guwahati.
No doubt Mumbai FC have some quality players, but for reasons beyond comprehension, strikers Gbeneme Friday and Ebi Sukore haven’t had a good run since the league restarted in the last week of March.
Strikers Cavin Lobo and Abhishek Yadav have done their bit but the support needed to execute coach Khalid Jamil’s plan has been lacking from both fronts.
Midfielders Keegan Pereira and Faizal Rehman have been modest while in the defence, Mumbai FC have depended on L Dhanachandra Singh and Haroon Fakhruddin. (With inputs from PTI from Pune)