Shillong December 13: Shillong Lajong will be looking to return back to winning ways when they meet Mohun Bagan on the 14th of December at the Salt Lake Stadium in Kolkata at 5:30 PM. The match will telecast live on Star Sports 2/Star Sports 2 HD/Hotstar App/Jio TV.
The Reds suffered their first major loss at the hands of East Bengal who proved to be too strong for them last weekend and with this result, Khalid Jamil’s side grabbed their first victory in the I-League.
Shillong Lajong began their I-League campaign with two consecutive victories at home against Gokulam Kerala and Churchill brothers and is desperately hoping to turn things around on Thursday when they face off the former I-League champions, Mohun Bagan.
Lajong will continue to depend heavily on the services of their youngsters from the Academy and the three foreigners who will be available are Daniel Odafin, Laurence Doe and Juho Oh.
The Reds deeply missed the services of their foreign strike force, Aiman and Koffi who suffered from injuries earlier on and are getting back to fitness. Their presence could have made a big impact on the scoreline in the previous matches of the Reds.
Mohun Bagan who missed out on the I-League title last season to Aizawl FC are currently in a brilliant form and have already picked up 7 points from 2 wins and one draw. They drew the first I-League match against Minerva Punjab (1-1), they won their next two matches against East Bengal (1-0) and Churchill Brothers (5-0).
The Kolkata outfit has many experienced players in their ranks and with the likes of Sony Norde, Dipanda Dicka and Kromah, they are expected to play a big role in the attacking front and provide with goals.
In the pre-match press conference today in Kolkata, Shillong Lajong Head Coach Bobby Nongbet said, “Mohun Bagan played well against Churchill in the last game. They have been very consistent lately and are definitely a strong side in the I-League.”
“The team has recovered well. We have been working on our errors during the last couple of days. We are confident that the boys will give a good and better performance against Mohan Bagan.”
“We want a clean sheet from this fixture and will work hard to get points”, said Bobby Nongbet.
Only one point separates the two teams and Mohun Bagan’s Head Coach, Sanjoy Sen shared his thoughts on the away side, Shillong Lajong.
He said, “Lajong’s 5-1 defeat isn’t an advantage for us. I told my boys that three points are important and we need to be cautious.”
“It was just a bad day in the office for Lajong in the last game. They had collected 6 points from their first 2 matches. They are dangerous from set pieces and are a well-balanced side”, he added.
