Redemption time for Lajong Shillong

Shillong,Dec. 28: Shillong Lajong FC will be hoping for redemption after suffering a humiliating defeat at the hands of ONGC in their previous match when they take on Pune FC in an I-League match at the Jahawarlal Nehru Sports Complex here on Saturday afternoon. The city club, of late, has been having a tough time in the league, having garnered a mere two points from their last three matches. Lajong are lying in eighth place with 13 points from 12 matches, while Pune FC are third in the points table with 23 points. “We will play to our potential and try and get a good result here”, visiting head coach Derrick Pereira said, adding “the weather is perfect for good football and it will not be problem for us to acclimatize as at present Pune’s minimum temperature is 9 degree.” Shillong’s recorded a maximum of 18.0 degree and a minimum of 5.9 degree Celsius on Thursday. Spectator interest in the match is expected to very low, given that Lajong has not been performing well this season, especially in their last three matches. The local fans are a dejected lot. Coach Desmond Bulpin will have to somehow quickly bring about a turnaround in the fortunes of the club to revive the moral of their fans. He, particularly, must strengthen his team’s defense against the Pune club since there has been a visible lack of coordination in the back four as a result of which they have leaked goals galore. (By Our Reporter)