By Our Reporter
SHILLONG: An in-form Shillong Lajong FC rallied to hold Salgaocar FC in a second round match of the I-League at the JN Sports Complex here on Friday.
Salgaocar went ahead in the 52nd minute only to concede the lead in the next minute when Lajong’s Ebi Sukore struck one from inside the box, much to the delight of the home crowd.
With this draw, Lajong now have four points from two matches, which is the best start for the team in their short I-League history.
A visibly happy SLFC coach Desmond Bulpin said the boys had done well to secure a draw in an encounter that was competitive throughout the 90 minutes. “I can say this is the kind of start (to the season) we were looking forward to,” Bulpin said during the post-match conference, adding that draw was a fair result.
Earlier, the visitors dominated ball possession in the first half, but were unlucky not to register their name on the score sheet.
Lajong custodian Lalthuammawia Ralte punched away an Angel Guirado header to deny a possible lead to the Goans.
Meanwhile, in the 29th minute, Lajong came close to scoring when Boithang Haokip hit a wild shot after striker Sushil Kumar Singh set him up brilliantly.
Crossing over, both teams started on an aggressive note and Salgaocar went into the lead after striker Guirado converted a free kick from outside the box. However, the visitors’ joy was short-lived as Lajong came back in style in the next minute following a Sukore shot into the nets.
The stadium erupted in a roar, with spectators egging the Reds to pull off another upset, after beting Mohun Bagan last week.
However, a stout defensive performance from both sides saw the teams sharing points.
Salgaocar coach Karim Bencherifa said that his side were again guilty of being caught unawares immediately after scoring.
“In I-League, the team that scores first tends to relax for the next 5-10 minutes and this is what has been happening to us in the last two matches,” he said.
Salgaocar had lost to United Sikkim 2-3 in their last match after taking the lead on two occasions.
Salgaocar are now ninth in the points table, with Lajong fifth.
In other matches of the day Prayag United SC came back from a one-goal deficit to beat Mohun Bagan 2-1 for their second successive win in Kolkata, while Dempo cored a resounding 5-0 win over Sporting Clube de Goa in the second round of the I-League in Margao.
The defending cham-pions led 2-0 at the break and added three more in the second half, with Clifford Miranda scoring a brace.
Sporting once again fielded an all-local squad.
In the absence of Nigerian defender Bello Rasaq who was red-carded in their previous match, Prayag’s backline looked sloppy as Odafa Okolie gave Mohun Bagan a 19th minute lead.
But Sukhen Dey’s strike seven minutes later turned it around for Prayag as they settled the issue through man-of-the-match Kayne Vincent in the 42nd minute.
However, the Prayag equaliser appeared to be an own goal by Bagan defender Khelemba Meetei, but the match commissioner awarded the goal to Dey. (with PTI inputs)