Mohammedan host Sporting Clube
SHILLONG: Shillong Lajong FC will aim for a hat-trick of victories when they take on Salgaocar FC in an I-League match in Goa on Friday.
The match will be broadcast live on Ten Action at 6:00pm.
Lajong beat Salgaocar in their first match this season in December in Shillong 2-1 and were then 4-0 winners over the Goan club in the Federation Cup earlier this year.
Even though form is on their side, the Reds’ coach, Thangboi Singto does not expect an easy game.
“It’s not going to be easy against Salgaocar,” Singto was quoted as saying on the official I-League website on Thursday.
“They are now a much stronger team with the addition of striker Dudu (Omagbemi) and they look dangerous. We have to be on top of our game to get something here.”
SLFC earned a point away at United SC last week in a tough 2-2 draw.
Salgaocar, on the other hand, won both of their games after the League came back from a break earlier in the month.
They first defeated Mohun Bagan 1-0 at home and then pipped Mohammedan Sporting away by the same scoreline.
Lajong and the hosts are tied on 24 points each at the moment, but Lajong are a place higher in fourth spot thanks to their head-to-head record, courtesy the victory in December.
“The table shows that we are fourth but we could have done a lot better had we improved our record at home. Away from home we have done well,” said the Lajong coach, who is the only Indian coach among the top four clubs in the standings.
The Reds won just three out of 10 home games in the season so far, while winning the same number away out of just six games.
“We made a strong comeback against United SC in Kolkata and credit goes to the players. They have been working extremely hard and am very happy with their performance,” Singto said of the game where his boys came back from two goals down thanks to goals from debutant Durga Boro and a fit again Uilliams Souza Silva.
Salgaocar, meanwhile, are on a roll after their two consecutive victories, even if they were by very slender margins.
Coach Derrick Pereira will be pleased with the way that new signing Dudu Omagbemi has performed, with the Nigerian scoring in both games.
Mohammedan seek to end losing streak
Meanwhile, in Kolkata, Mohammedan Sporting will have a big task at hand when they take on second-placed Sporting Clube de Goa in a 5:00pm game.
The teams come into this fixture on the back of contrasting forms as Mohammedan have lost their last four I-League matches while Sporting Clube are on a five-match unbeaten run.
The match could have consequences for the second club from Shillong, Rangdajied United FC, who are in dead last in the table, one point below Mohammedan (12 to 13).
At the opposite end, Sporting Clube are three points behind leaders Bengaluru FC (28 to 31) with a game in hand.
Instead of focusing on their recent troubles, however, Mohammedan will remind themselves of the reverse fixture in Goa back in October where they produced one of their best performances of the season to win 3-1.
Sanjoy Sen’s side might have picked up their second trophy of the season during the I-League break in the form of the IFA Shield. But the constant action has taken a lot out of them physically while the Goan club had seven fewer fixtures during the near two-month interval.
After the break, Mohammedan have lost two games, with the Goan outfit drawing their lone fixture