23rd Meghalaya Invitation Football Tournament
SHILLONG: Lajong impressive form continues as they edge past 58 GTC 2-1 in the last quarterfinals league match of the ongoing 23rd Meghalaya Invitation Football Tournament here at J N Stadium Ground no 1, Polo on Monday. In a closely contested match, Lajong were far more fluent and robust than the 58 GTC who somehow were unorganized defensively. In the opening half, Lajong looked comfortable as they threatened GTC’s end continuously; the first real chance came Sheen’s way on the 6th minute but his shot from inside the box was beautifully saved by GTC’s custodian. On the other hand, GTC struggled to make any inroads in the first 15 minutes. On the 24th minute, Isaac breaks the deadlock after he converted the penalty awarded to Lajong for GTC’s captain clumsy challenge on Allen Deory. On taking the lead, Lajong continued to press but GTC left no space for Lajong to explore, in turn GTC began to counter attack aggressively, and on the 42nd minute Bikash Thapa drew level the score after his sharp header found the back of the net from a well-directed free kick struck by Sushil. The first half ended with the scores leveled at 1-1. The opening exchanges in the second period were less eventful, the chances dried up and neither side made the opposition goalkeeper work hard. However, when the the match reached its final 10 minutes, the Reds mounted some late pressure and ultimately made a breakthrough after Pritam’s long ball from half way of the turf saw Allen Deory flicking it home with his head to seal the match in Lajong’s favour. The first semifinal will be played on November 23 between Rangdajied United FC and 58 GTC FT, and the second semifinal on November 24 between Oil India Duliajan, Assam and Shillong Lajong FC.
