I-League Pre-Match Report : Mohun Bagan vs Shillong Lajong FC

7th April 2015:

League Leaders McDowell Mohun Bagan will host Shillong Lajong FC in a Hero I-League encounter at the Salt Lake Stadium in Kolkata at 4:30pm on Wednesday. The match will telecast live on Ten Action. Thanboi Singto’s troops will head into tomorrow’s clash coming from a scintillating 6-0 victory over Mumbai FC. This was indeed a much needed and deserved victory for the Reds from the North East which has boosted the level of confidence and has certainly up the ante for Lajong.

Cornell Glen who scored a brace in the match against the Mumbaikars which was held last Friday has increased his goal tally to 9 from 10 match appearances. Penn Orji, Zodingliana, Uilliams Souza Silva and Ongnam Milan Singh scored a piece and it was an overall team display that made Lajong FC victorious.

In all probability, the Lajong Coach, Thangboi Singto will look to play the same winning team against Mohun Bagan on Wednesday. The team ended Mumbai FC’s unbeaten run in their home ground, now Singto and his boys will have to master an effective game plan in order to end Bagan’s winning streak in this season of the I-League. The Mariners remain the only undefeated team in the League this season.

Speaking to Coach Thangboi Singto earlier today he said, “We aspire to give a good performance in every Match. So against Mohun Bagan AC we go with the same belief and confidence on what we can do as a team.” He further said, “We expect it to be the toughest Match of the Season as we play the top team who is still unbeaten. We expect a good performance from all our players.”

Boithang Haokip and Joseph Lalfakzuala have minor injuires and the coach said, “We have 24 hours to make the final call on their availability.”

Meanwhile, Sanjoy Sen is a Happy Man! He has a dream team in the form of Balwant Singh, Pierre Boya, Katsumi Yusa, Sony Norde, Souvik Chakrabarti and Denson Devadas to name a few of the star players at the Club.

The Kolkata outfit is one of the strongest side in the League and also boast of the reputation of not having lost a single match this season. Truly, the Mariners are the match favourites who are on the top of the I-League standings with 24 points from 10 matches played. The team has also scored the maximum number of goals with 20 goals and will aim to shake their opponents net many times to increase their goal tally on Wednesday.

Mohun Bagan head into tomorrow’s encounter after a 3-1 win over Salgaocar. Denson Devadas, Yusa Katsumi and Sony Norde were the providers of the occasion last Friday at their Home Fortress.

Sen will surely bank on his strikers as well midfielders to push upfront and attack in their opponents half and add some trouble to the Lajong Defence Line. However, the Mariners should be alert on the kind of danger Lajong’s attacking force can pose to their troops.

The two teams have previously met in Shillong on the 27th of February in what was a tight contest played between the two sides. Mohun Bagan managed to collect three points from this match after winning by a score line of 3-4.

A big battle awaits at the Salt Lake Stadium where the two sides meet for the second time and look to make the most of it from tomorrow’s encounter. The Lajong Faithfuls can witness the clash live on Ten Action from 4:30pm onwards.