Rangdajied United Ready For The Historic Shillong Derby

21 November 2013

In what will be a historical moment for the capital city of Meghalaya, Shillong Lajong is all set to host Rangdajied United in the I-League's first ever Shillong derby. And so is Rangdajied United ready to take on their much experienced counterpart, Shillong Lajong.

Both the coaches - Thangboi Singto and Santosh Kashkap - have mentioned in the in pre-match press conference that, their respective team will go for the win, but at the end of the day, the winners will be the game of football and the people of Shillong.

Armed with five new signings from the IMG-R camp, the more powered Rangdajied will be a different team all together. India internationals Gouramangi Singh, Sandesh Jingham and Subrata Pal are all available for the derby while Tomba Singh and Manandeep Singh may also feature in the game on Friday.

Adding to the good news is that, skipper Eugeneson Lyngdoh and Restomwell Khriam will be back in thick of things after having to sit out for the last four rounds. But the Santosh Kashyap led team is once again likely to miss the service of the Brazilian recruit, Edmar Figueira.

"It's a great setback that we will miss Edmar again because, he was slowly regaining his form and his fitness after struggling initially. He was doing well in the Shillong League and even scored a hat-trick in the last game," said the coach.

But Santosh Kashyap has lots of option to fall back now and it will be interesting to see how he shapes his team against Shillong Lajong when The Blues get into the field on Friday evening.

David Ngaihte, who was the star in the match against Salgaocar shared the sentiment when he said, "Competition within the team is now very high and it’s a good sign. Everyone is working hard and putting in their best foot." And he didn't hide his sentiment when asked who could emerged the the winner. He simply put it, "Ofcourse Rangdajied United."

On the other hand, Lamine Tamba, who has stood like a rock in The Blues' defence said, "It's a game of football and anything can happen. It doesn't matter how a team practice or looks on paper. The team that plays better in that 90 minutes will come out the winner."

Win for the either of the team will definitely help them climb the I-League table and it's what both are clearly aiming for. But with tickets for the match sold out and the match going to be broadcast LIVE for the country to witness the making of history, it's Football and the people of Shillong that are going to be the winners.