Lajong ride on Dicka brace to beat fancied Mumbai FC 3-1
SHILLONG: Shillong Lajong made it two wins in a row beating Mumbai FC 3-1 in a Hero I-League match at the JN Stadium here on Saturday. Lajong rode on a Dipanda Dicka brace to virtually take the match away from the visitors, who slumped to their third defeat on the trot, in the first half itself. Dicka got the hosts the breakthrough in the 28th minute and followed it up with another shot at the nets three minutes before the 45- minute mark. Later Chinglensana added a third in the 70th minute to seal the tie for the hosts. For Mumbai, Karan Sawhney scored the lone goal in the 56th minute. The Reds could have been up by three goals to none in the first half itself had Issac Chhakchhuak’s lofted shot from close range not hit the top of the crossbar. It was a forgettable outing for Santosh Kashyap’s boys who were reduced to 10-man towards the fag end of the tie when goalkeeper Laximikant Kattimani was shown a Red Card for handling the ball outside the box. The win catapulted Lajong to 5th in the standings while Mumbai moved a spot below to 6th. Earlier, Mumbai started the proceedings on a positive note creating several chances in the early on. The first real chance came Mumbai’s way in the 15th minute when Brazilian Robson Santana was inches away from tapping in a brilliant Thoi Singh cross with the Lajong defense nowhere in sight but the attacking midfielder over ran the ball making a mess of the opportunity. Despite the miss, the Reds were left doing the defending job for most part of the first 25 minutes but things took a sudden turn in the home team’s favour thereafter. A counter attack by Lajong in the 25th minute saw Samuel Shadap’s chip shot being somehow tipped over by Kattimani. However, there was no stopping the hosts three minutes later when Dicka headed one into the nets giving his side the breakthrough. The Cameroonian forward was assisted by an excellent Issac Chhakchhuak free kick awarded following a foul inside the Mumbai box. Robson, meanwhile, continued to be wasteful in front of goal when he headed wide another of Thoi’s perfect deliveries from close range. Just when Santosh Kashyap’s boys looked like getting back into the tie with a couple of decent raids on the opposition half, Dicka killed the first half contest with his second strike in the 42nd minute. Following a Mumbai defensive lapse Dicka was left alone 35 yards away and went past the advancing goalie to convert with ease. The Mumbaikars had their hearts in their mouth when Issac hit the top of the crossbar in stoppage time. Fortunately for them the two sides went into the break with the score 2-0 in favour of the Reds. Crossing over, despite the initial pressure exerted by the Reds, Mumbai chipped in a goal almost against the run of play with super sub Karan Sawhney converting one from close range.Sawhney had replaced Hitesh Sharma during the break. Hopes of a strong Mumbai comeback however, was shattered in the 70th minute when Chinglensana completed the hat trick for Lajong. Sana spun over to put the ball into the back of the nets following a corner kick much to the delight of the over 5000 strong crowd. Things became worse for the visitors when their custodian Kattimani was shown the Red Card for handling the ball outside the box. 10 men Mumbai hardly had enough arsenal then to stage a comeback as the Reds happily grabbed full three points from their second win in as many games at home. Dipanda Dicka was declared the hero of the match.