Reds to take on Kolkatan giants today
SHILLONG: Shillong Lajong FC will end their four-match run of away matches when they take on East Bengal in an I-League match against East Bengal in Kolkata on Friday.
The game will be broadcast live on Ten Action at 5:00pm.
The Reds have played all of their matches since the season’s break ended away and have netted two points with two 2-2 draws (against United SC and most recently Pune FC) and one 3-1 loss at Salgaocar.
However, their excellent performance in the first half of the season means that they are still well placed in fifth position in the standings with 25 points, tied with Dempo, but ahead on head-to-head.
Lajong need to overcome some painful history on Friday; they were handed a 4-0 thrashing against the Red & Golds in Shillong last year in the reverse fixture.
The Shillong team, on the road for weeks now, were leading 2-1 against Pune until the dying minutes when the hosts stole a point.
A positive from that encounter was the performance of Uilliams Souza Silva, who scored twice, thus taking his tally this season to six goals, one behind Cornell Glen.
“Uilliams is in scoring touch now after netting three goals from three games played,” coach Thangboi Singto was quoted as saying on the club’s website on Thursday. “All the team members have also given 100 percent, which I’m happy about. We need to play as a team to win.”
Singto also noted that his team are not guaranteed a top-five spot and need to aim for more than just a draw.
“We have to win to stay in the hunt for top five. We need to take the pressure positively and translate into a winning performance,” he said.
East Bengal are in seventh place with 23 points, but have three games in hand.
The Kolkatan club come into this fixture on the back of a morale-boosting 2-1 win against Mohammedan Sporting, which ended a sequence of five matches without a win in all competitions and gives them hope of mounting a title challenge.
However, in this very tight season, EB have struggled to perform consistently and have not won consecutive matches in the last 12 months.
Armando Colaco’s side will also be without Nigerian defender Uga Okpara, who came off with an injury in the Mohammedan clash.
Lajong, meanwhile, are also battling inconsistency.
They have scored more goals than any other team (25) other than Salgaocar (also 25) and Bengaluru FC (34). But they have also conceded more goals than all but one team, sharing the dubious distinction of giving away 29 with Rangdajied United FC.
All told, there is no way of saying who goes into the game as the favourite, but the Reds will hope to add to their impressive tally of three away victories this season.