PANCHKULA:
Naorem Mahesh Singh
scored the only goal as bottom- placed Shillong Lajong stunned defending champions Minerva Punjab FC at the Tau Devi Lal Stadium here on Friday.
The super-sub was the difference in a game of few clear-cut chances as he found the back of the net in the 84th minute and gave Lajong their second win of the season. This is the eighth consecutive game for the defending champions where they haven't been able to secure a win. Interestingly, Minerva failed to score a goal against the team which had conceded 37 goals in this season, the most in the league.
Minerva who have only scored seven goals in the season so far had made a few tactical changes. Paul Munster deployed central defender Lancine Toure as the forward, but the player from Ivory Coast was clearly looking out of place. Although he had a handful of opportunities throughout the first half, he could not make their best use. If this was not enough, goalkeeper Bhaskar Roy came as the substitute in the outfield.
The hosts, who made some interesting moves through both sides of the flank, couldn’t really find success, partly due to lack of a good finish, and due to the resilient defence of Lajong. Minerva, however, managed to break into the opposition box a few times, but couldn’t really make the most of all the chances that they were presented with.
The visitors slowly began building up attacks and nearly found the back of the net in the 26th minute, when Kitboklang Pale flicked past Samuel Lalmuanpuia's pass past Deepak Devrani but couldn't direct his shot on target.
Despite having more of the ball near the Lajong box, Minerva were unable to break down the defence of their opponents with most of the deliveries falling straight in the hands of rival goalkeeper Phurba Lachenpa.
The second half began with defending champions Minerva pressing hard from the first minute, but full credit to Lajong’s goalkeeper Lachenpa who stood tall.
In the 56th minute, Lajong brought in Naorem Mahesh Singh, replacing Samuel Lalmuanpuia and it brought around a sea change to the visitors attacking style. Mahesh in combination with Khongsit made continuous attempts, finding ways into the Minerva box, but they lacked the finishing, barring them from taking the lead.
Against the run of play, Kynsailang Khongsit put down a golden opportunity to give Lajong the lead in the 75th minute as he shot wide after being found by Pale at the edge of the box.
It was then Naroem Mahesh Singh who broke the deadlock in the 84th minute scoring on a rebound from Minerva goalkeeper Nidhin Lal. The rebound was a result of a shot from Sheen that Nidhin saved but failed to collect safely.
Kitboklang Pale could have soon made it 2-0 after snatching the ball from Akashdeep but Nidhin Lal pulled off a save in a one-on-one situation to keep his side in the game.
However, the visitors held on to their lead. In spite off the victory, they are still at the bottom with seven points from 14 games, while Minerva Punjab remain seventh with 14 points from as many matches.
Start a Conversation
Post comment