SHILLONG: Sunday will see Shillong Lajong host their final home match of the current I-League season when they face Mumbai FC at the JN Stadium, Polo, at 5:00pm.
Technically this will be Lajong’s last home game, as the eagerly awaited second round of the Shillong derby next month will be hosted by Rangdajied United FC.
Mumbai FC and the Reds are coming into this contest after experiencing very different seasons.
The visitors are still in danger of relegation, finding themselves in 11th spot with 21 points from 20 games. Incredibly they have drawn 12 of their matches, including their last outing at East Bengal on March 26, which ended 2-2.
Mumbai coach Khalid Jamil did not sound all that bullish after the last fixture, saying, “I don’t know whether we will be able to save [ourselves from] relegation. Only Allah knows that.”
Lajong are also fresh off the back of a 3-0 victory over Bengaluru FC last Sunday.
Speaking on Saturday during a pre-match press conference, Jamil said that having to change players throughout the season has been a problem for his team.
When the two sides last met in the League, Lajong scripted a 3-2 victory in Pune and Jamil will want to reverse that result.
SLFC also won 4-0 against the Mumbaikars in the Federation Cup earlier this year, but Lajong coach Thangboi Singto does not feel that that will reflect at all on Sunday’s game.
Asked whether his sixth-placed team are looking for a top-five spot, Singto said that the League is too tight to call.
“This year the league is so tight. Dempo have climbed to fourth, but, seriously, we are not looking at the table at the moment. We are trying just to do our best. Mumbai are strong. They have not lost that many matches (both teams have lost five) and it will be a very different game for us.”
Mumbai are fully fit, according to Jamil, and will hope that striker Yusif Yakubu can unleash some magic for them.
The hosts may miss out on Taisuke Matsugae, who is struggling with his hamstring, but all in all, Lajong are looking strong, while Mumbai need to pull something special out of the bag.
