Durand Cup: Shillong Lajong FC go top of group E with a dominant win over Mumbay FC
Shillong, Aug 8 (IANS) Shillong Lajong FC cruised to a commanding 5-0 win over Mumbay FC in a Group E fixture of the 135th Durand Cup, played here at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium on Saturday, a result that considerably brightens their prospects of reaching the quarter-finals.
Everbrightson Sana led the scoring with a brace, while Abhay Gurung, Tremiki Lamurong and Figo Syndai were also on the scoresheet as the hosts made light work of their visitors from Mumbai in front of a raucous home crowd.
The result takes Shillong Lajong to the top of Group E with six points from two matches, having won both of their opening fixtures. Langsning FC sit second on four points, with Nongkseh SS&CC third on one point. Mumbay FC, without a point from their two outings so far, remain bottom of the table.
Shillong Lajong set the tone early, with Phrangki Buam and Jota causing regular problems down the flanks. The hosts’ first real opportunity arrived in the seventh minute, Ephraim Lalremtluanga’s free kick finding Arthur Pangaro at the far post for a thumping header that Mumbay’s defence somehow scrambled clear.
A similar chance went unconverted in the 14th minute, captain Kenstar Kharshong failing to make proper contact despite being unmarked from another set piece.
Mumbay struggled to find any rhythm against Lajong’s relentless pressing, their first shot on target not arriving until the 23rd minute, when Mandeep Singh Multani’s effort lacked the power to trouble goalkeeper Siwel Rymbai.
At the other end, Mumbay custodian Yasheel Manish Shah was called upon repeatedly, denying Sana’s low drive in the 16th minute and then producing a goal-line save to keep out Arthur Pangaro’s close-range effort in the 25th. Lamlallian tested him again from distance in the 36th minute, though Mumbay did threaten briefly of their own accord soon after, Mohammad Kaif Khan failing to keep a first-time header down from a Rohit Mirza free kick.
The half took a difficult turn for Mumbay just before the interval. Captain and defensive lynchpin Ahmed Faiz Khan was stretchered off after twisting his ankle clearing a ball in the 45th minute, and within two minutes of his departure his side’s resistance had been broken.
Joedson Dos Santos’s free kick picked out Sana, whose header was saved by Yasheel, only for Gurung to react quickest and finish the rebound.
Barely ninety seconds later, Lajong struck again, Tremiki collecting the ball inside the box, shifting it away from his marker and slotting a composed finish beyond Yasheel. Losing their captain and immediately conceding twice made for a bruising passage of play for Mumbay to absorb heading into the break, and the visitors would spend the rest of the evening trying to recover a foothold that had slipped away in the space of two minutes.
Lajong picked up where they left off after the restart, Gurung squandering a good early chance across the face of goal before the third arrived in the 52nd minute — Tremiki turning provider this time, splitting the Mumbay defence for Sana to rifle a first-time finish into the top corner. Sana celebrated with the trademark Cristiano Ronaldo leap and mid-air spin, and the home end roared out their own “Siuuu” in unison as he struck the pose before them.
Mumbay tried to respond, Afzar Noorani curling narrowly over from the right side of the box in the 56th minute, but any momentum was extinguished when Dhruvmil Pandya’s heavy touch gifted possession back to Lajong in the 64th minute. Sana pounced without hesitation, driving into the box and finishing crisply for his second of the afternoon and his side’s fourth.
Yasheel continued to stand firm where he could, denying Kharshong from close range in the 69th minute and Joedson from almost point-blank distance in the 79th, sparing his side further embarrassment on both occasions.
There was, in the end, no reprieve. In the 88th minute, substitute Manbhakupar Iawphniaw’s cross from the left caused confusion in the Mumbay box, and when Abhay Chhetri’s header failed to clear the danger, fellow substitute Syndai was on hand to nod home the fifth and complete a rout that had been taking shape from the moment Lajong found their opening goal.
For Shillong Lajong, the win extends a perfect start to the campaign and leaves them well placed at the summit of Group E with the group stage still to unfold. For Mumbay FC, already searching for their first points, the task now is to regroup quickly — and do so without their captain, whose evening ended long before his side’s difficulties truly began.
–IANS
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