Shillong, 1st December 2018: The 32nd game of the Hero I-League is all set for a super Sunday clash between two northeastern powerhouses of football, Shillong Lajong FC and Neroca FC from Manipur. Both Shillong Lajong and Neroca FC have won just one game so far in this season and this game would be of paramount importance for both the teams for their journey ahead in the league.

The game is scheduled to start from 5 PM at the Jawahar Lal Nehru Stadium, Shillong, tomorrow 2nd December 2018.

Hosts Shillong Lajong are currently placed at the 10th place in the Hero I-League points table with Four Points to their kitty (1 win, 1 draw and 4 losses) from six games whereas their opponents Neroca FC have a slight advantage on the overall position on the points tally being placed 7th ( 1 Win, 2 Draws & 2 Losses) having played a game less compared to Lajong.

Shillong Lajong, so far, have played some entertaining football giving troubles to all their opponents, but unfortunately, they haven’t been able to find the back of the net more often. However, the positives from their attacking game have been that six different players have contributed to the 8 goals that they have scored so far from their six games.

Phrangki Buam and Naorem Singh are the only two to have scored a couple for Shillong Lajong and on their day, both of these players can be extremely lethal. However, a major concern for head coach Alison Kharsyntiew would be to organise his defence line which hasn’t been in great shape so far in this season. Defensive lapses have resulted in Lajong conceding 14 goals so far.

“The problem is that we have conceded 14 goals which were just because of silly mistakes. We have to work on those mistakes and we’re doing so. The boys have shown improvements and we’ll continue doing so,” said Alison Kharsyntiew’s, Head Coach, Shillong Lajong FC.

NEROCA FC who have travelled to Shillong at the back of a 2-1 loss to table-toppers Chennai City FC will be eager to add a second win to their kitty. Neroca who had a super run last season finishing second in the Hero I-League, have been a little lacklustre this season.

However, what is to be noticed that the visitors have conceded only 5 goals this season. Neroca FC this season haven’t been very lucky on the scoring front as well with just 4 goals from 5 games. Nigerian Felix Chidi with two goals to his kitty along with Eduardo and Subash Singh has a goal each to their names for the visiting team.

Neroca FC’s Head Coach Manuel Fraile would look at exploiting the weak defence line of Shillong Lajong and use his strike force to full in order to secure a win.

“To be honest, we, at this moment, are growing up as a team. We are working hard and the players need to enjoy football. We are positive about getting a win tomorrow and we just need to keep our focus throughout and execute the plans on the pitch,” said Fraile.

A win for either can help the teams climb up a few positions but a defeat for Neroca FC would trigger a steep fall on the points table.

KOLKATA: Sony Norde’s goal was cancelled out by Nestor Gordillo’s late strike as Mohun Bagan were held to a 1-1 draw by Chennai City FC in their 2018/19 I-League encounter on Saturday at Vivekananda Yuba Bharati Krirangan.

On the balance of play, Mohun Bagan will feel they should have sneaked it as they dominated proceedings and created better goal-scoring chances in front of their home fans.

They will surely be kicking themselves for not burying numerous goal-scoring opportunities they created, especially in the opening stages of the encounter.

But in the end, the result was perhaps a fair reflection of the action on show. Both teams had periods of dominance and both had numerous scoring opportunities.

The game got off to a lively opening five minutes, with Mohun Bagan impressing with some neat football.

Sankarlal Chakraborty’s charges played with verve and used a short, sharp passing style to get beyond the Chennai City defense.

During one such attack, Sony created a moment of uncertainty in the Chennai City penalty area, but, fortunately, Chennai City defenders were able to clear the danger.

But once things settled down, both teams made sure they kept things tight and compact. Both defenses were organised and kept shape, and scoring chances were few and far between.

Nonetheless, Mohun Bagan gave a good account of themselves in the later stages of the first-half, and should have easily went into the half-time break two or three goals up.

Chennai City, on the other hand, sat back and tried to catch them on the counter, but in the end, both teams went into the break locked at 0-0.

The game burst into life after the interval. Chennai City goalkeeper Nauzet Santana was called into action in the first minute of the second-half and pulled off a stunning safe to deny Henry Kisekka.

Mariners were all over Chennai City and asking more and more questions. Santana produced another glorious save to keep Sankarlal Chakraboty’s charges at bay when he denied Pintu Mahata in a one-on-one inside the box, diving full length to stop the ball from going in.

But the pressure eventually told and Mohun Bagan stormed into the lead when Sony slotted from close range in the 50th minute after receiving the ball from midfield.

The setback served to awaken Chennai City from their slumber and they threw players forward with abandon, in search of an equalizer.

Alexander Jesuraj whipped a shot over the bar and Sandro Rodriguez was desperately unlucky when his goal-bound effort was blocked by the Mohun Bagan defense.

In the 74th minute substitute Ameerudeen Mohaideen was denied by the post on the left as hosts Mohun Bagan managed to hold on.

Again, though, the relentless pressure had an effect, and it was Nestor who got the all-important goal in the 81st minute to level the score for Chennai City.

Having scored, Chennai City showed more endeavour in attack and it took everything Mohun Bagan had left in their tank to deny the onslaught from Chennai City. Goalkeeper Sankar Roy also made a number of telling saves to a salvage a point for his side.

Following the draw, Chennai City continued to lead the log standings with 17 points from 7 matches while Mohun Bagan remain on fourth spot with 9 points from 6 matches.

1st December, Panchkula: Match 30 of 2018/19 I-League saw defending champions Minerva Punjab FC defeat Indian Arrows by a solitary goal at the Tau Devi Lal Stadium, Panchkula. Philip Njoku of Minerva Punjab FC who scored the winning goal was adjudged the Hero of the match.

The game began with Minerva Punjab FC playing in white and blue while visitors Indian Arrows playing in orange. The young colts of the Arrows showed their intent right from the start pressing hard but the experience and greater physical strength of Minerva Punjab FC’s defensive line ensured that the Arrows could not create much of a threat inside the box.

Arrows, however, were the side with a higher possession but the young forward line wasn’t able to create any good clear opportunity throughout the first 45 minutes.

Both the teams had two shots each on the goal though the defending champions were the ones who had the closest chance at scoring when their Ghanian forward William Opoku failed to find the back of the net in the dying seconds of the first half.

After the break, Arrows’ first clear chance came in the 49th minute when Rahul KP took a deft attempt at the goal but Arshdeep made a valiant save to deny Indian Arrows a lead.

Indian Arrows breached the Minervan defence line a few times after that but weren’t successful in converting those chances.

Nigerian Philip Njoku had the cleanest chance to give Minerva Punjab FC the lead in the 59th minute but his outstretched hand on the face of Indian Arrows goalkeeper Prabhsukan Gill wasn’t overlooked by the referee to rule it a foul on the goalie. Even though the ball found the back of the net, it got cancelled because of the decision.

Rahul KP of Indian Arrows again missed a fine chance when his beautiful run beating Lancine Toure and Columbian Caicedo Rodriguez missed the goal from a handshaking distance in the 68th minute.

The Arrows looked a more composed and organized team today but their defence was breached in the 74th minute when Philip Njoku took an advantage of a muddle between Prabsukhan Gill and the fellow defender to poke the eventual winning goal for the hosts.

The game thereafter saw both teams making numerous attempts on either side but a lack of a good finishing move saw the game wrapping up 1-0 in the favour of the Punjab-based outfit.

Kozhikode, November 29, 2018: After a sluggish start, Gokulam Kerala FC had just begun a mini-surge, when they find themselves running into a red-hot Churchill Brothers at the EMS Corporation stadium in Kozhikode, Kerala, on Wednesday, November 30, 2018. The game begins at 5 PM and promises to be a thrilling encounter between the current number two and number three sides of the I-League in front of a packed stadium.

The Goan visitors have maintained an unbeaten record in their five games so far, one of only two sides to do so, and have plundered seven goals in their last two victories against quality opposition. Their efforts have taken them to second on the points table with nine points.

Romanian coach Petra Gigiu will be particularly pleased with the form of his leading marksman Willis Plaza, who has struck five of those seven goals. Churchill also have a compact defence which has conceded just four and maintained three clean sheets.

Besides experienced Indian players like Israil Gurung on the right wing, the Red Machines seem to have discovered a new lease of life in their game. Gambian Dawda Cessay has really acted like the able leader of the pack with regular effective and telling contributions.

Coach Gigiu while being cautiously optimistic also acknowledged the crowd factor saying, “Our last result was a good positive one but in a football match a team wins and the other one loses. Against Mohun Bagan, we utilised our chances and subsequently, we won. We’ll look forward to replicating the same tomorrow. We have seen the support behind them and that might be a key factor tomorrow.”

Bino George’s Gokulam on the other hand, actually began their surge in form, in a game in which they ended up on the losing side.

The 2-3 loss to table-toppers Chennai was the kind of confidence booster, if ever a loss can be called one, that Bino’s Boys needed. An exciting end to end see-saw battle, it was probably when Bino convinced himself that he was not going to let up on the attack for the remainder of the league.

Rajesh probably today is the biggest star in major parts of Kerala and his game is one for the crowds. He runs at defences, keeps the game simple and is relentless in his pursuit of goals. He along with the likes of VP Suhair and even a youngster like Gani Nigam have teamed up with Grenadian Antonio German to transform into a potent attacking force.

Speaking on the match-day eve, coach Bino said, “Churchill have been going through a good phase and we have also got some good results recently. We just want to stick to our plan and execute them on the pitch.”

He was also grateful for the home support quipping, “Spectators are coming to support us day in and day out and that keeps the boys pumped up to give the extra bit.”

What Gokulam will have to guard against is their defence. They have just one clean sheet from five games and against a team in the kind of goalscoring form like Churchill, it might prove costly in the end equations if not tightened up.

Both sides have never played a goalless draw in the two encounters they have had so far and Churchill are ahead in the head to head stats winning one out of those two. But they will not care too much for statistics on Friday as they bid for the primary challenger tag to runaway leaders Chennai City.