I-League: Injury hit Rangdajied United host league leaders Salgaocar FC in crunch tie

Rangdajied United practising ahead of their match against Salgaocar

In a crucial round nine encounter of the I-League, bottom side Rangdajied United FC will host table-toppers Salgaocar FC at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in Shillong on Tuesday. After seven rounds, Rangdajied lie at the bottom of the table with two points; but the Blues will hope to turn things around with a win over league leaders Salgaocar, who have 16 points from seven matches.

Rangdajied United and Salgaocar FC have both had quite contrasting starts to their I-League campaigns. The Goans have been on top of their game in the I-League so far, and have suffered only a single defeat. On the other hand, promoted Rangdajied United are yet to adjust to life in the top-flight, and remain winless from their first seven games.

The Blues’ coach Santosh Kashyap have been boosted by the positive performance from his side in the recent 0-1 away loss at Pune FC, still he has more concern regarding the availability of his key players due to injury.

Eugeneson Lyngdoh, the skipper and the heart of the team will miss the match due to a knee injury while Restomwell is still nursing his hamstring and defender Pratik Chaudhury too has a knee injury.

Having still to adjust to the cold Shillong condition players like Elam Abocha, Ambilstar Sun, Nagen Bhutia are all down with fever and racing against time to get fit for this encounter. The wall of the team, Senegalese Lamine Tamba is also suffering from a stomach upset, though he did light practice in the training session today.

The positive however is the increasing fitness of striker Edmar Figueira, who is also gaining confidence with each passing match. Lalnunpuia is no different as he has been exceptional in trainings and Sandesh is also getting his touch back.

With a chink in the Rangdajied United arsenal, coach Kashyap has an uphill task to fill in the gaps as he hinted that tomorrow’s match could see few new faces in the team.

Shambu Mistry started beneath the bar in the last game against Pune FC, and will hope to fend off competition from Surjay Pariyar for the starting place once again. Poibiang Pohshna, Munmun Lugun, Thomas Saikhom, Bhola Prasad and Pynshogdor Shadap are all available, and will be hoping to feature in Santosh Kashyap’s starting XI on Tuesday afternoon.

Considering the form Salgaocar FC’s Scottish forward Darryl Duffy is in at the moment, the Blues’ defence will have a hard task at hand on Tuesday, and it will be interesting to see the back-four combination coach Kashyap starts with in the game.

At the center of the field, meanwhile, Rangdajied United put up a much improved showing in the game at Pune, and coach Kashyap will be hoping for a similar outing from his medios.

Upfront, Santosh Kashyap could use the services of Edmar, T. Lalnunpuia, Sandesh Gadkari or Joy Kharraswai against the strong Salgaocar FC backline. The Blues’ forwardline will need to be in top form against the Goan side, and the fans of the club would be hoping for the same.

Rangdajied United haven’t had the best of starts to its debut I-League campaign. However, with 15 games yet to go in the season, there is a lot of time left for the Blues to turn the season around and survive relegation. A win against the league leader could do wonders to the morale of the team.