I-League: Rangdajied United ready for historic Shillong derby

In what will be a historical moment for the capital city of Meghalaya, Shillong Lajong FC is all set to host Rangdajied United FC in the I-League‘s first ever Shillong derby. And so is Rangdajied United ready to take on their much experienced counterpart, Shillong Lajong.

Both the coaches – Thangboi Singto and Santosh Kashyap – have mentioned in the in pre-match press conference that their respective team will play for a win, but at the end of the day, the winners will be the game of football and the people of Shillong.

Armed with five new signings from the IMG-R camp, the more powered Rangdajied United will be a different team all together. India internationals Gouramangi Singh, Sandesh Jingham and Subrata Pal are all available for the derby while Tomba Singh and Manandeep Singh may also feature in the game on Friday.

Adding to the good news is that, skipper Eugeneson Lyngdoh and Restomwell Khriam will be back in thick of things after having to sit out for the last four rounds. But the Santosh Kashyap led team are once again likely to miss the service of the Brazilian, Edmar Figueira.

“It’s a great setback that we will miss Edmar again because, he was slowly regaining his form and his fitness after struggling initially. He was doing well in the Shillong League and even scored a hattrick in the last game,” said the coach.

But Santosh Kashyap has now lots of option to fall back on and it will be interesting to see how he shapes his team against Shillong Lajong when The Blues get into the field on Friday evening.

David Ngaihte, who was the star in the match against Salgaocar FC shared the sentiment. “Competition within the team is now very high and it’s a good sign. Everyone is working hard and putting in their best foot.” And he didn’t hide his sentiment when asked who could emerged the the winner. He simply put it, “Off course Rangdajied United!”

On the other hand, Lamine Tamba, who has stood like a rock in The Blues’ defence said, “It’s a game of football and anything can happen. It doesn’t matter how a team practice or looks on paper. The team that plays better in that 90 minutes will come out the winner.”

Win for either of the teams will definitely help them climb the I-League table and it’s what both are clearly aiming for. But with tickets for the match sold out and the match going to be broadcast LIVE on TenAction for the country to witness the making of history, it’s football and the people of Shillong that are going to be the winners.