Seityasen leads Royals with treble
JN Stadium in the city on Sunday.
SHILLONG:Royal Wahingdoh FC saved its best for the last and the same was evident on Sunday when the hosts did everything right to put up a befitting show against Salgaocar FC in their ultimate Hero I-League home game of the season at the JN Stadium in the city.
It was also a memorable outing for Seityasen Singh for riding on his hat-trick the Royals beat Salgaocar 4-2 to register a famous win in front of an over 16000-strong crowd who turned out to cheer their side for one last time this season.
The Royals have already had a fairytale run in their debut season and the inspirational performance on Sunday put them back on track for the title hunt besides piling pressure on the likes of Mohun Bagan and Bengaluru FC.
Sunday’s match had in it all a Royal Wahingdoh fan could ask for. From the mastery of the home strikers to the steadfastness of their defenders and the custodian, the Royals were determined to sign off with a famous win for themselves and the thousands of faithful who backed them throughout the season.
It was only apt that the side which started its I-League campaign in the same ground with a win over city rivals Shillong Lajong FC was to emerge triumphant in its last home match of the season on the same pitch.
Following the win, the Royals now have 30 points from 18 games and will end their League campaign with games against the Kolkatans-Mohun Bagan and East Bengal– later in the month.
Seityasen Singh might not have had the best of seasons so far but he saved the stellar role for the big day. The mesmerizing Seitya struck on the 10th, 68th and 82nd minutes to complete his treble while skipper Densill Theobald added a fourth to the tally in the 59th minute. For the visitors Douhou Pierre and Darryl Duffy struck in the 56th and 90+2 minutes respectively.
Earlier, the home team had a great start with Jackichand Singh and Seitya combining well from the very beginning. In fact, the duo with their style of play added a slice of history to the game. The familiar crowd was reminded of the exploits of Jacki and Seitya who have been delivering time and again for their side for years now. No surprises that Wahingdoh broke the deadlock as early as the 10th minute. Densill Theobald intercepted the ball in the midfield and released Jackichand in attack. Jacki was quick to spot Seitya on the right. With only the rival custodian to beat, the RWFC No. 11 placed the ball with consummate ease on the right of Subrata Paul.
Three minutes later Jacki and Seitya collaborated again but could not get the desired result this time round.The way Wahingdoh went about the game thereafter made it hard to believe that the hosts were up against the same Salgaocar side which had trounced Shillong Lajong at the venue a week ago.
At the stroke of half hour another chance went begging for the Royals when Seitya was unable to get to a potential header placed perfectly for him at goal mouth by Naoba Singh who made it to the starting XI on Sunday.
Almost 10 minutes later Godwin Franco sent one flying over the cross bar to maintain the pressure on the opponents. However, the sides went into the break with the score at 1-0.
Crossing over Salgaocar got the equalizer in the 56th minute through a sublime free-kick from Pierre who found the back of the net from a difficult angle. Pierre struck from the deep left flank after a free kick was awarded following a foul on him.
Barely had the celebrations died down when Wahingdoh struck again, this time through Densill. When nobody expected him to take a shot after he was fed by Lalchawnkima around 10 yards outside the box, Theobald sent a scorching right-footer that blazed past Subrata Paul who could do little to keep the ball from entering the back of the net.
Seitya made it 3-1 for the hosts in the 68th minute after being fed by Jacki yet again. The RWFC No. 11 then sealed the deal for his side by striking for the third time in the 82nd minute. Fed from the left, Seitya overtook his marker and negotiated the rival custodian to send a half-volley into the net.
Though Darryl Duffy struck one back in the 90+2 minute, it was a little too late in the day to make an impact on the outcome of the tie.
The final score was 4-2 in favour of RWFC. RWFC coach Santosh Kashyap was all praise for his boys for the coordinated effort.