GUWAHATI: Shillong Lajong FC will lock horns with Indian Arrows in their first away game of the Hero I-league season at the Barabati Stadium in Cuttack on Monday with both teams fielding an all-Indian line up.
The last time the two sides faced each other in an I-League encounter was on January 8 this year in Shillong with the Reds emerging victorious by a 1-0 margin.
The AIFF developmental side will be heading into Monday’s clash after losing to Chennai City FC in their first match of the new I-League season.
Although Indian Arrows drew first blood through Amarjit Singh’s goal in the second minute, it was Chennai who won the game in the end by a convincing 4-1 score line in Coimbatore.
In the previous season of the I-League, Indian Arrows finished at the bottom of the table.
Floyd Pinto who was the assistant to Luis Norton Matos has taken charge as head coach.
The AIFF team has travelled the world for exposure and gained some good experience. As many as four India under-16 players have been promoted to the I-League squad.
Rahim Ali, Amarjit Singh and Aniket Jadhav, however, will be the key players to watch out for in the game.
The clash on Monday will be Shillong Lajong’s first of the three consecutive away matches.
They played their last two matches at home in Shillong and won their first game – The North East Derby versus Aizawl FC by 2-1 but were defeated by East Bengal FC in their second game 1-3.
Alison Kharsyntiew’s side departed from Shillong on Saturday morning and arrived in Cuttack late on Saturday night. The players had a training session at the venue on Sunday morning.
However, before The Reds departed from their hometown, they regained the signatures of their former Academy players and defenders, Meban Wahlang from Shillong and Nabin Rabha from Assam to add strength to their backline.
Head coach, Alison is certain that his boys are ready for the game against Indian Arrows on Monday.
“The boys have been working very hard. They are focused and ready for the game,” he said.
“Indian Arrows are a strong team with talented players in their squad having good overseas experience. We have to be ready to give our best. We need to play good football and get three points,” Alison said.
Indian Arrows head coach, Floyd Pinto said, “We have watched the last two matches of Shillong Lajong and they were very impressive. But our boys have been training well. The confidence and energy levels are high and the intensity is there. So it’s just a matter of transferring that into the game on Monday.”