Lajong demolish Mumbai; Royals share spoils in six-goal thriller

SHILLONG: Led by mercurial Trinidad and Tobago striker Cornell Glen, Shillong Lajong trounced Mumbai FC 6-0 in a Hero I-League clash at the Cooperage Ground, Mumbai on Friday.
The 33-year-old Trinidadian world cupper fired home the north easterners’ first (21’) and fourth (51’) goals, while Penn Orji (25’) and Zodingliana Ralte (47’) scored once each in regular time.
To add insult to injury, Brazilian Ulliams Souza Silva (90+’) and Milan Singh (90+’) came off the substitutes bench in the second half to fire home a goal each in added on time to complete Mumbai FC’s total humiliation.
Lajong now are at the ninth spot in the standings, with 10 points in their kitty.
The most fiercely contested I-League tie
Meanwhile, Royal Wahingdoh FC and Bengaluru FC played out a six-goal thriller at the Kantheerava stadium in Bangalore on Friday. The Hero I-League game ended in a dramatic 3-3 draw as both sides fought hard in what was arguably the most fiercely contested battle in the tournament so far.
The second and third placed teams brought out the best in themselves as a goal-fest saw the visitors rue missed opportunities to secure all three points.
For the Royals Kim Seong-Yong (15th, penalty), Godwin Franco (44th) and Reagan Singh (74th) scored while Robin Singh (39th), Shankar Sampangiraj (58th) and Joshua Walker (70th, penalty) scored for the hosts.
Post the encounter, Bengaluru and RWFC continued at the second and third spots respectively with 21 points each in their kitty.
The match witnessed plenty of drama and the end result was in suspense until the final whistle. Wahingdoh, who had lost 0-4 at home in the reverse fixture, were keen on avenging the defeat and looked the better side for much of the game as they teased and tormented a shaky home defence.
That the Royals held 62 per cent of the possession in the first half and continued to dominate in the second speaks volumes of the effort put in place by Santosh Kashyap’s boys against the most organised side in the I-League. RWFC also had 33 shots aimed at the nets as against only 12 by Bengaluru.
On the other hand, Bengaluru too kept their nerves and come back twice and even take a 3-2 lead only to see the visitors draw level. Though unable to dominate their opponents, the Blues still created several chances.
Kim Seong opened the account for the Royals in the 15th minute, converting from the spot after a penalty was awarded following a Joshua Walker handball.
Just as the half was dying out Bengaluru’s Robin Singh got his name onto the score sheet thanks to a couple of fortunate deflections. The Blues had a flurry of corners leading up to the goal, which Eugeneson Lyngdoh had a huge part to play with a perfect delivery. However, barely four minutes later, the hosts were stunned by a thumping effort from Godwin Franco which saw the visitors take the lead once again.
Anxious to catch up, the Blues showed a lot of urgency in the second-half and eventually drew level when Shankar Sampangiraj, who had just then come off the bench, leapt high to head home Eugeneson Lyngdoh’s curling free-kick.
More drama unfolded as Wahingdoh goalkeeper Prem Kumar conceded a penalty as he hacked down Sean Rooney who had broken through on a long ball. Walker converted to give Blues a 3-2 advantage with still 20 minutes left in the game.
Four minutes later, Reagan Singh made it 3-3 for the visitors with a blistering right-footer after a speedy attack to keep the interest alive. Both teams survived some anxious moments in the last quarter as also the three minutes of stoppage time as the long whistle came as a massive relief for the adversaries. (With inputs from agencies)