Saihou Jagne and Abdoulaye Koffi of Shillong Lajong helped the team win over NEROCA FC by 2-0 goals in an I-League match held on Wednesday at the Khuman Lampak Main stadium in Imphal on Wednesday.
This loss also ended Imphal-based NEROCA FC’s nine-game unbeaten run.
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However, despite Wednesday’s loss, NEROCA FC still remain on the second position on the league table with 21 points from 11 points.
There is still hope for the team to top the table if they can beat Minerva Punjab FC on January 27.
On the other hand, with Wednesday’s win over NEROCA, Shillong Lajong jumped two places to fourth with 17 points from 12 matches.
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It may be mentioned that though NEROCA FC lost the game, they dominated the whole of the second half of the match with better ball possession. They were also able to create several chances but their forwards failed to make the cuts.
As per media reports, NEROCA FC, who were playing in their debut season, struggled in the first half an hour, which helped the Shillong Lajong side to take a 2-0 lead before the 20th minute of the game.
There were 15,000-odd crowd who cheered up for the home team at the Khuman Lampak Stadium; however, finally the home team disappointed them with a loss after remaining unbeaten in nine games.
The NEROCA FC players failed to recover from the early jolt in today’s game.
According to media reports, Shambu Mishtry continued in between the sticks for NEROCA as Gift Raikhan set their team up to make it sure that their unbeaten run stayed intact. Felix Chidi led the line and was flanked by Ronald Singh and Subash Singh.
On the other hand, Laurence Doe, Samuel Lalmuanpuoa, Daniel Odafin, Saihou Jagne and Abdoulaye Koffi all started for Lajong.
Though NEROCA made a good start it was Shillong Lajong which broke the deadlock in the 13th minute and Saihou opened his account.
Shillong Lajong struck another blow five minutes later through Abdoulaye Koffi. Novin Gurung’s cross was headed into the net by the Ivorian striker to double his side’s lead.
On Sunday, Shillong Lajong will face Gokulam at Calicut. On the other hand,
NEROCA FC will fight against Minerva Punjab on Saturday.