I League 2009: Surprise from Shillong

After being Thrashed 5 - 1 by JCT at Ludhiana, Lajong FC came up with a spirited performance to take lead against Sporting Clube de Goa in their second away match being played at Fatorda Stadium in Margao.

Shillong Lajong FC got more than what they had bargained for as they masterminded a spirited 1-0 win over Sporting Clube de Goa in the ONGC I League Round II match played at the Tilak Maidan in Vasco on Thursday.
Baithang Haokip exposed Sporting Clube’s fragile wall , quite literally, to score the only goal of the match with a freekick from just outside the box.
Haokip, who had an impressive game apart from the winning goal, managed to lift some of the gloom that had surrounded the debutants after their 1-5 loss against JCT in Round I
Sporting were expecting an easy ride and had all but taken the three points for granted. But Shillong Lajong exposed their shortcomings especially in the centre of midfield where neither Nigerian Michael Tayo nor Bibiano Fernandes could come up attacking moves.
Anthony D’Souza seemed to be the only creative player on the left of midfield, but with Joseph Pereira also staking a place for that spot, it was a pity he got only 45 minutes at the start.
Coach Roy Barreto started with both Anthony and Joseph -- unusually on the right -- and it seemed perfect for a start.
Anthony was involved in all three of Sporting’s chances in the first 45 minutes, but while Nigerian striker Nathaniel Amos wasted a near-perfect cross from the left, Anthony should have done better with two chances that he seemed to have conjured from nowhere.
Lajong struck with the first and only opportunity of the match.
Sporting goalkeeper Gerrard D’Mello was guilty of walking out of his zone with the ball, ostensibly to highlight Matthew Gonsalves’ head injury. It was a foolish thing to do; worse was the manner in which Sporting arranged the wall to guard the resultant freekick. Haokip stepped up and made no mistake with the freekick in the 15th minute, getting past a non-existent wall.
Stung by an early goal Sporting Clube tried to equalise but Shillong outfit with some solid defensive tactics denied the scoring chances to the home team.
Lajong captain Aibor Khongjee was impressive with his defensive abilities until he was stretchered out with a groin injury, but it was man of the match Wailadam Passah who stood head and shoulders above everyone else in the centre of defence.

Source: AIFF

From the archive. First published on footballkerala.com on Thursday 8 October 2009, restored from the site's 2012 database. Text as originally published.