New Delhi: In a rather embarrassing defeat, Shillong Lajong FC went down 0-3 to ONGC in a 12th round match of the I-League here on Saturday.
Santosh Kashyap could not have asked for a better start as the newly appointed coach of relegation-threatened ONGC came up with the goods to down the North-East side.
ONGC, who were at the bottom of the points table before this match, moved up to 11th place, out of the relegation zone. Lajong remain in eighth spot.
Foreigners Yusa Katsumi and Eric Brown notched up five-star performances with the latter bagging the Man-of-the-Match award for his outstanding display.
Brown opened the floodgates for the hosts in the 19th minute, picking up a C Kenistan ball from the left flank to slot home past the diving Lajong custodian.
Katsumi doubled the lead early on in the second half when he brilliantly dodged past his marker to slam home his first of the match.
The Japanese playmaker capped off what had been a good day in office for him, 10 minutes from full time.
Playing one-two with Brown, Katsumi outfoxed the goalkeeper expertly to seal the lopsided contest.
The visitors had their moments but failed to make the most of whatever little came their way.
In the 13th minute of the match when Lajong had all to play for, Sushil Kumar drilled a free header wide with the goalkeeper out of his line.
Post match, an elated Kashyap said: “It is a great start under me. We played positive football throughout the match. I hope to continue from here.”
Lajong’s next match will be at home, playing Pune at the JN Stadium on December 29 at 2pm.
Pune are unlikely to be easy to beat after winning 3-1 over Prayag United at home on Saturday.
In the other match of the day, Dempo defeated Pailan Arrows 2-1 in Kolkata. (PTI)