Shillong, Dec 1: Shillong Lajong lived up to the expectation of its home fans as it hold the top of the table team of 1-League East Bengal to a goalless draw even as the home crowd was egging the team to clinch a victory. But in the end the fans went home with a smile in their face as it showed the grit and determination to take on and outclass the football giant from Bengal.
Both the team-East Bengal and Shillong Lajong- shared a point each in the 9th round match of the I-League at the JM sports complex Saturday afternoon
Playing a match at about 16 degree cc East Bengal upfront pair of Edeh Chidi and Orji Penn Ikechukwu failed pose any challenge to the local custodian Lalthuammawia Ralte, as Lajong’s North Korean defender Minchol Son, who later was declared man of the match, stoutly defended the fortress not giving any room for the opponents to score.
The only moment East Bengal came close to breaking the tie was in th54th minute when Lalrindika Ralte was all alone with the ball instead of taking time he took a first time shot which went flying high and wide. Had he taken some time to make room for a shot East Bengal could have score a goal.
Much to the excitement of the fans, Shillong Lajong showed some class as it gave the Kolkata giant some anxious moment, but it was little unlucky not to have scored a goal.
In the 88th minute of the game Sushil Kumar Singh took a powerful shot from the danger arc which was well anticipated by Kolkata goalkeeper Gurpreet Singh Sandhu who push the ball out for a flag kick.
With Saturday’s draw Lajong has eleven points while East Bengal has 21 points against their account.- By Suraj Joshi
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