Lajong now have 16 points with 5 games left
SHILLONG: Shillong Lajong FC put up a spirited show to trounce an out of sorts Dempo 3-0 in a Hero I-League match at the JN Stadium here on Saturday.
Uilliams Souza Silva opened the account for the Reds in the 17th minute while Khelemba Meitei doubled the lead in the 37th minute. Glen converted from the spot to make it 3-0 for the hosts in the 51st minute.
By virtue of this win, Lajong have moved up to the seventh spot ahead of Mumbai FC, Dempo, Sporting Clube de Goa and Bharat FC with 16 points in their kitty.
Lajong were under a lot of pressure coming into the tie and the hosts did just what the doctor ordered for them, score goals at regular intervals while maintaining a clean sheet.
Coach Thangboi Singto was pleased with the performance and reiterated that defending well was the key for his side as they had players in their ranks who could go and convert upfront.
Earlier, both sides started on an even note as the match took some time to get going in the real sense. Just as Lajong were beginning to build up, they were awarded a free kick after Boithang Haokip was brought down a few yards outside the box.
Surprisingly, free-kick specialist Boithang made way for Uilliams to take the shot. The Brazilian sent in a screamer that sailed into the side netting making rival custodian Laxmikant Kattimani a mere spectator.
Ten minutes later Glen steamed up the middle almost unchallenged, but he pulled his shot wide of the net. This proved to be one of several near misses for the home team, who were giving the Goan defence a hard time.
The day, however, was going to turn a whole lot worse for the visiting side. In the 37th minute Lajong struck again. A great corner swung in by Uilliams found Khelemba, whose header struck the ground first before bouncing past a hapless Kattimani to mark his debut goal for the Reds.
Following the goal Lajong created a bundle of chances. A brilliant run from the right by Uilliams saw the Brazilian strike the side of the nets. Moments later Kattimani somehow latched on to a Cornell Glen shot from inside the box.
Lajong were forced to make a first half substitution when Pritam Kumar Singh appeared to be injured after a tackle. He made way for Samuel Shadap as the team went into the break with the score line reading 2-0 in favour Lajong.
Meanwhile, Dempo coach Trevor Morgan made all the three substitutions at half time, bringing in Tolgay Ozbey, Mandar Rao Desai and Peter Carvalho.
At a time when the visitors were expected to put up a spirited show being 0-2 down, it was the hosts who seemed relentless in their efforts. To add to the misery for Dempo, the visitors gifted a penalty to the Reds barely five minutes into the second half when Uilliams was fouled in the box.
Glen stepped up and converted from the spot to make it 3-0 in the 50th minute.
It was clearly not Dempo’s day and the Golden Eagles were reduced to 10-men when Nirmal Chhetri received his second yellow card of the game two minutes after the hour mark.
Uilliams added a fourth in Lajong’s tally in the 82nd minute but it was denied for being off side.
Thereafter there was nothing much that Dempo could do and the game ended in a fantastic win for the hosts.