Shillong : Shillong Lajong scripted history at the JN Stadium Shillong today beating Sporting Clube de Goa 1-0 in the Round 5 Hero I-League encounter.
It was the Brazilian pair of Uilliams Souza Silva and Fabio Pena which worked in tandem to secure the win for Lajong, courtesy the 58th-minute winner. Uilliams was quick to score off a rebound after Fabio’s shot was blocked by rival custodian Arindam Bhattacharya.
After a goalless first half, Lajong took control of the proceedings a couple of minutes before the hour mark and they created, at least, four good chances leaving their Goan rivals to do the defending job mostly.
The Brazilian combination of Uilliams and Fabio seemed to be coming to their own in this tie and with brilliant support from Penn Orji at the centre, Lajong looked almost unstoppable.
Sporting enjoyed a slight advantage in possession in the first 45 minutes even as they squandered some decent chances to go on the lead.
The first real and perhaps the best chance of the first half went begging for Sporting when a Rowlin Borges header from goalmouth hit the woodwork in the 23rd minute.
The Lajong back line also did a good job in marking the dangerous Odafa Okolie who was hardly allowed any room despite being fed at regular intervals by long passes from Borges.
For Lajong, Penn Orji was at his best in the centre park making good assists upfront. The hosts squandered an opportunity in the 26th min when a Fabio Pena scorcher went just over the wood work. Fabio was fed by a Rupert Nongrum cross from the right.
Two free kicks in a span of three minutes saw Lajong miss scoring opportunities narrowly. First it was Orji who sent in a scorcher breezing just over the nets. Then it was Uilliams who slammed one just wide of the nets on the right from long range. Such was the show by Lajong that Sporting hardly got a chance to trade a shot on the net in the second half.
Lajong’s Hero I-League campaign has certainly received a boost post this win while Sporting will have to figure out their future strategies ahead of their away fixture against leaders Bengaluru FC.
Courtesy : AIFF Media