Shillong: Shillong Lajong FC will take on Dempo SC at the J.N.Stadium, in Polo on Saturday, as both teams will look to return to winning ways after their defeats to Salgaocar and East Bengal respectively.
Shillong Lajong began their run of seven consecutive home fixtures with a disappointing loss to Salgaocar FC as The Reds struggled to contain the visitors in the first half as they put three goals past the Lajong defense but their second half performance would have inspired the team to better results in the coming fixtures.
Speaking in a pre match press conference, Lajong’s coach Thangboi Singto said, “Every match is crucial for us. Yes against Salgaocar we conceded very silly goals very early but second half we had a fair number of chances. We can’t forget the last match but we have to look forward as a team. For us we have to do much better in the coming match tomorrow.”
Having played well in their campaign last year finishing sixth in the table, Thangboi Singto’s men are struggling to string up a good run of performances as only three points separate Shillong Lajong and the drop zone.
He further added, “For us playing at home we should get maximum points. We’re in a position where we can’t get a loss. We have to stay more solid and strong defensively and hopefully the players up front will give us a good result tomorrow.”
The home side however will look to capitalise on their opponents who will be without their foreign players Carlos Hernandez who is out for the rest of the season. Also, Afghanistan international Amiri picked up a ligament injury against East Bengal and Australian forward Tolgay Ozbey nursing a calf injury.
Dempo’s head coach Trevor Morgan who was also present at the pre match press conference said, “We’ve been unable to field our four foreigners on the pitch all season. It has affected the team but we’ve been upbeat. All the games we’ve played we’ve always been in the game.” Tolgay Ozbey who scored three goals in his previous two matches would not start the match but might come on “only after half time” said the Dempo coach.
Both teams have found themselves in the bottom half of the I-League standings fighting for their place to stay in the top division. Trevor Morgan says the battle at the bottom is a “dog fight” as Dempo are in seventh place with three points and two positions ahead of Lajong but with The Reds having played two games less. Come this Saturday, Lajong will battle it all out for a victory and give their fans an entertaining game of football. The match is indeed very crucial for the home team as they have five more home games to play and a win is vital in order to better their position in the league this season.
