Indian Arrows stun 10-man Shillong Lajong 3-0
Indian Arrows registered their second win of the I-League season with a 3-0 shock win over Shillong Lajong at the Ambedkar Stadium on Tuesday. Arrows rode on goals from Jitendra Singh, Nongdamba Naorem and Rahul KP to notch three points. The visitors finished the game with 10 men after substitute Lalrohlua was sent off in the 61st minute.
Arrows were quicker off the blocks, putting Lajong under pressure. With head coach Luis Norton de Matos out of town, his assistant Floyd Pinto got his tactics spot on and managed to keep Lajong’s attack at bay.
On the 19th minute mark, Arrows earned a free-kick when Sanjeev Stalin was impeded by Daniel Odafin. Arrows’ quick free-kick took Lajong by surprise and defender Jitendra Singh scored to give his side the lead.
In the second half, Lajong head coach Bobby Nongbet brought on midfielder Lalrohlua in place of skipper Samuel Lalmuanpuia, who was seen limping at the end of the first half. At the hour mark, Lalrohlua’s game ended early after he went hard at Rahim Ali, earning his second yellow card to bring his side down to 10 men.
In the 86th minute substitute Nongdamba Naorem cut in from the left flank and beat two Lajong defenders to score the second.
With three points virtually assured, substitute Rahul rounded off the win with a shot which beat keeper, Phurba Lachenpa, at his near post.
Speaking at the post-match press conference, Lajong coach Bobby Nongbet admitted they were outplayed.
“In the first half, we were totally outplayed. They played really well. In the second half, we pressed for an equaliser, but the red card didn’t help,” he said.
Nongbet’s counterpart Floyd Pinto praised his boys for keeping shape and managing to hold their heads after taking the lead.
“It is a game between two of the youngest teams in the league. What we focused was on being organised,” he stated. “At 1-0, it could have been anything, even with 10 men, but the substitutes came on and did well.”
NEW DELHI:
EAST BENGAL TARGET FOURTH WIN ON TROT
On a high after a hattrick of wins, East Bengal will look to continue their ascent and eye the number one spot when they host debutants Gokulam on Wednesday Having started off with two back-to-back draws including one in the season’s first derby, the Khalid Jamil-coached side drew a lot of flak but they’re finally back on winning track, three points shy of leaders Minerva Punjab (13).
KOLKATA: