Shillong Lajong FC beat Tata Football Academy 3-0 in pre-season friendly

Shillong Lajong FC vs Tata Football Academy

I-League side Shillong Lajong FC registered a 3-0 win over Tata Football Academy, in a pre-season friendly, which was played at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in Shillong on Friday.

The match started on a bright note with both teams having good possession of the ball and playing it around the park. The Reds looked the more dangerous going forward, with new international recruit Cornell Glen in particular troubling the TFA backline with his movement and darting runs.

It was in the wake of one such move by the Trinidad and Tobago striker, that the Reds finally found themselves ahead. Glen dribbled past two TFA defenders, and found left-back Jibon Singh, who wasted no opportunity to put the ball in the 32nd minute into the back of the net.

The young TFA boys then tried to find a way back into the match, but found it tough to break the firm Lajong backline, as the hosts dominated the first half with ease. Boithang Haokip then doubled his team’s lead when he curled one past the TFA custodian from a free-kick in the 38th minute with the game going into the break with Lajong leading by a brace.

The second half play was quite toned down, as the morning heat started taking a toll on both sets of players.

In the 82nd minute of the game, new Manipuri recruit Ongnam Milan Singh put the game to bed with another beautifully curled free-kick even as Shillong Lajong FC coach Thangboi Singto handed match time to youngsters Redeem Tlang, Bipin Singh, Rakesh Pradhan, Lalrammuana and Seikhohao Tuboi.

After that, it was just a matter of completing formalities and the game ended 3-0 in favour of Shillong Lajong, who will consider the result a good start to their run-up to their 2013-14 I-League campaign, while TFA lost against another I-League side after losing against East Bengal Club and Mohammedan Sporting Club.