Mohun Bagan vs Shillong Lajong FC
Source: Shillong Lajong FC *
Shillong, February 16 2016:
Hero I-League defending champions Mohun Bagan are ready to play host to North East I-League outfit Shillong Lajong FC at the Barasat Stadium in Kolkata on Wednesday at 7.05pm.The match will telecast live on Ten Action.
Lajong are coming into this match after playing out a goalless draw in the first leg of the North East Derby held in Aizawl on Saturday afternoon.
Thangboi Singto's side are yet to win an away match in this season of the I-League and the whole team is wishing for lady luck to favour their side when they clash swords with Sanjoy Sen's Mariners on Wednesday.
Lajong's performances upfront have not been impressive as they have scored just 2 goals in the campaign so far.
The Lajong forward line will need to start converting the chances that they often create into goals.
Lajong will be playing the third consecutive away match tomorrow and Brazilian Forward, Fabio and Japanese defender Yusuke will most likely not feature in the match tomorrow after suffering injuries in the previous match.
Some good news however for Lajong's defence is that youngster Sana Singh will be back to the squad after serving a one match suspension.
Adinga who played his first I-League match this season against AFC last Saturday had recovered from his injury which he had obtained during the ISL and may get a chance to start again tomorrow as he will look to display a more confident performance on Wednesday.
The Lajong Gaffer will thus rely heavily upon his Brazilian front man Uilliams Souza for creating goals, the experienced Penn Orji and Boithang Haokip to play crucial roles in midfield while Aibor to continue being the defensive midfielder in front of his defenders.
Pressure may creep into the minds of the young Lajong defenders as they will be kept busy throughout 90 minutes with the likes of Sony Norde, Cornell Glen, Yusa Katsumi and Jeje posing serious danger in front of goal.
Singto said, "We have to get a strong mindset to do well against the defending champions.
We need to convert the chances we create in the match.
It will be a tough match but with the right approach we can fight against Mohun Bagan and get a positive result.
Yamagata and Fabio are doubtful as they got injured in the previous match and have not recovered.
Boithang is also doubtful", he concluded.
The Mohun Bagan forward have been in an impressive form including their Goalkeeper Debit Majumdar who has been making commendable saves for his team in their previous matches.
The mariners have scored a total of 12 goals thus far with Cornell Glen netting four already for his team.
The striker is not far away from the top goal scorers list and will look to continue his brilliant scoring streak and add more to his goal tally.
Sanjoy Sen's side are yet to lose a match in the I-League this season and have won four times and drew twice.
The team is in the second position, only a point separating them from Bengaluru FC who are currently occupying the top spot.
The Kolkata outfit are heading into tomorrow's fixture after defeating Bengaluru FC 2-0 in Bengaluru.
Jeje and Sony Norde provided the two goals for Bagan.
Mohun Bagan have posed themselves to be a very confident and dominant side in this Hero I-League 2015-16 Season.
With their minds set on retaining the title of champions, they will surely make the most out of tomorrow's clash to stay two points clear from BFC who are leading the scoreboard with 15 points.
Lajong on the other hand, may be a young I-League squad with average age of only 22 years but they need to have a strong conviction, team spirit, good combination and understanding with their team mates on the pitch and do the impossible by coming out victorious from tomorrow's tough contest where the evens favour the host and odds are highly on the visitors, at the Barasat Stadium at 7.05pm.
* The sender of this news can be contacted at media(aT)shillonglajong(doT)com .
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