SHILLONG: In a crunch game for Royal Wahingdoh FC, the Shillong outfit will take on a tricky Kalighat Milan Sangha in their penultimate match of the Second Division I-League in Aizawl on Wednesday.
The Royals are one of just two teams still in the running to finish at the top of the table and thus bag a spot in next season’s I-League top tier.
But they still need the best possible result against Kalighat, who have nothing to lose after their hopes ended a few days back.
Wahingdoh will have one eye on the other match of the day, the earlier contest between leaders Bhawanipore FC and Hindustan FC.
Bhawanipore have 14 points to Wahingdoh’s 12.
A victory or draw for both teams would postpone knowing which side qualifies until the top two meet in the final match of the tournament on Friday.
RWFC would be knocked out, however, if they lose to Kalighat and Bhawanipore beat Hindustan.
Kick-off in the Royals’ match on Wednesday is reported as 6:30pm according to a match preview on the official I-League website.
“We need to be the team who qualifies to the I-League next season and that is the only aim right now,” said an official from RWFC on the I-League website.
“Bhawanipore’s win yesterday (against Kalighat) ensured that only two remain in the fray to earn promotion, and we totally want to be that one team.
“There is no such strategy against Kalighat in our game tomorrow. All we want is a win. Throughout the competition we have taken one game at a time and with only victory in mind. We want to get a win against Kalighat tomorrow and again register a victory against Bhawanipore on the last day.”
Wahingdoh and Kalighat met in the first phase in Silchar, a match that ended 1-1.
The Shillong team will have to watch out for James Gbilee, Kalighat’s Liberian striker, who has eight goals to his name.
Gbilee’s compatriot Bekay Bawar has five goals for RWFC, along with Jackichand Singh.
“We have fast, skilled wingers and fullbacks, creative midfielders, no-nonsense defenders. It’s a balanced team,” the official said.