Shillong,Feb 17: The Shillong Lajong will take on league leaders Chennai City FC in their 8th home game of the Hero I-League 2018/19 season on 18th February at the JN Stadium in Shillong at 5PM.
The tickets for the match will be available at the Mobile Centre Police Bazar and SSA Counter in Polo Ground from 10AM onwards on Monday.
In their last home game, Lajong managed to secure 3 vital points against Churchill Brothers FC Goa and then went to Kolkata where they had to face a harsh 5-0 defeat in the hands of East Bengal FC. The Reds have so far managed to gather 10 points from the 16 matches that they have played whereas the visitors Chennai City FC are sitting at the top of the table with 34 points from 16 games.
Phrangki Buam, Samuel Kynshi and Mahesh Naorem are the leading goal-scorers for Lajong with 4 goals each and Spaniard Pedro Manzi leads the visitors’ tally with 16 goals being followed by his countrymen Nestor Gordillo and Sandro Rodriguez with 6 goals each to their name. In the reverse fixture in Coimbatore, Chennai City came out victorious with a massive 6-1 margin where Samuel Lalmuanpuia scored the only goal for Lajong.
Monday’s I-League match will be crucial for The Reds and talking about the last defeat and the upcoming game coach Alison Kharsyntiew said, “Last match we did not get any chances, we could not move the ball well and our defending was not up to the mark. Every next game we go with a different challenge. Hopefully, on Monday we will play well and take advantage of our home ground.”
“Chennai is strong in every department. We should avoid conceding and take advantage of every chance that we create. We have worked hard on all the departments trying to improve. We go fresh and ready for the game and hopefully we can get the three points”, he further added.
Lajong’s joint highest goal-scorer for this season Phrangki Buam talked about his performance and the game and said, “I am happy with my goals, but we have to give our best not for our individual performances but to get the results for the team. It will be a difficult game for us on Monday. Chennai is a strong team and are at the top of the table. They will be fighting for the title and we will be fighting to avoid relegation. So, we have to give our everything to get the 3 points.”
Chennai City is going into Monday’s game coming from a gruelling 3-3 draw away to Neroca FC. Their coach Akbar Nawas talked about the team’s preparation and said, “I think it’s good that we came here earlier so that we can settle down. So far it has been good, and we have been preparing well for the game and hoping to give a good show.”
“We are looking to win the games that we play and if the title comes along, that is a bonus for us. We are doing our best to win every game we play. Our philosophy is not to even draw a game. For us, a draw is a defeat no matter what the circumstances are”, he concluded talking about his team’s chances in clinching the title.
