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Shillong Lajong FC played their second away game of the season when Gokulam Kerala FC hosted them in the round four fixture in Kerala.
Lajong came into this game after having tasted their second defeat of the season against Indian Arrows in Cuttack.
Gokulam too came into this game after having been beaten for the first time in this I-League season by Chennai City FC.
Both the sides wanted to get back to winning ways, and the game had a swift-paced start to it.
Gokulam Kerala FC had more of the ball in the initial phases and had a lot of chances, but the Shillong defence saw to it Gokulam didn't take the lead.
Eventually, in the 43rd minute, the side from Kerala did ultimately break the deadlock. Gokulam went into the break with the scoreboard reading 1-0 in their favour.
The second half had more of the same in store for us as Gokulam tripled their lead before Shillong pulled one back.
The match ended with Gokulam defeating Lajong 3-1 to secure their victory of the I-League campaign.
On that note, let us take a look at the five talking points of the game.
#5 Gokulam impressive going forward but need to work defensively
If one checks the Gokulam team list correctly, they will see that Gokulam had four outright forwards in their starting eleven.
German, Suhair, Gani, and Rajesh can all play as strikers and are actually strikers. Gokulam used them really well.
The four of them interchanged positions well and kept troubling the Shillong defence time and again.
The story of the Gokulam back four is not as rosy as the front four. The back four comprising of Abhishek Das, Fabricio Ortiz, Daniel Addo, and Deepak Kumar were shaky.
Gokulam Kerala FC has an element of luck as Lajong did fail to capitalise on the chances they created specially in the first half.
The way the young Shillong lads went past the Gokulam Kerala FC defence at times even without their leading man Samuel is something Bino George the Gokulam coach won't like seeing again.
Gokulam Kerala FC, this season in all the games they have played, have shown a tendency to be a bit lacklustre at the back and they need to sort it out as soon as possible.
#4 Has Antonio German finally found his form?
It wasn't like German hadn't scored in the I-League yet, but it was the way he had played in the previous games that had everyone talking regarding his form and performance on the pitch. Some even went onto say that getting German was a big mistake for Gokulam Kerala FC.
For German though Football in India and Kerala is a love story he just can't get enough of. After his stint in the ISL with the Kerala Blasters FC he went back to England, but he came back to join Gokulam Kerala FC amidst rumours of a few Kolkata clubs showing interest in him.
German though has silenced his critics today with the way he played. His runs down the flanks were superb, and his passes had the necessary vision to slice open the Lajong defence. He even scored a brilliant goal in the second half to double Gokulam's lead.
His presence also affected Rakesh Pradhan's runs down the flanks as the young left back from Assam was mostly busy dealing with German's forward advances.
#3 Samuel's absence felt for Lajong
Lajong is the only professional club in this season's I-League to register an all Indian squad.
The average age of the team is just 20 and leading this team is a young 20-year-old midfielder named Samuel Lalmuanpuia who was awarded the best young player in the I-League last season.
Samuel is a threat from set pieces, and there are very few players in India who can match his consistency and accuracy from set pieces.
Today Lajong won a couple of free-kicks from dangerous situations but failed to test the Gokulam keeper. Had Samuel been there the story could have been different.
A lot of the Lajong youngsters also looked out of sorts after being three goals down, and it was then that someone of Samuels experience could have guided them.
After Lajong scored one back in the 78th min, they could have pressed harder for another one, and it was in situations like these that Samuel was missed a lot.
#2 Gokulam Kerala FC finally win
Gokulam Kerala FC was one of the three sides in the I-League who hadn't won a game in this season's I-League.
Churchill Brothers and Aizawl FC are the other two teams who haven't won a single game so far in the I-League.
Gokulam Kerala FC had disappointing draws with Mohun Bagan and NEROCA FC and lost the southern derby to Chennai City FC.
In all the games that Gokulam Kerala FC played before today's encounter showed that the team had some excellent players, but he still hadn't found the perfect team combination.
With stars like German, Ortiz and quality players likes Castro among their ranks one knew that Gokulam would be a team that would challenge for the I-League title this season.
With a coach like Bino George, one could always expect Gokulam to come good, and today they did and did it with an amount of style. With Gokulam getting its first win, the team from Kerala will hope that they can build on this performance keep the winning momentum going.
#1 Shillong Lajong lions at home, cats away from home
When Lajong announced their squad for the I-League and it was evident that they hadn't signed any foreigners and would field an all Indian team that too with players who had graduated from its Academy.
Many people then came out predicting that this season Lajong looked to be the team which was favourites to go down or be relegated.
Then the I-League started, and Lajong defeated ex-champions Aizawl FC in the opening round, and the predictions slowly started going in favour of Lajong.
The Reds then faced mighty East Bengal at home and went down 3-1 but not without winning everyone's hearts.
They played so well that even the 200 odd travelling fans from Kolkata sang 'Well Played Lajong'.
With the first two home games done and riding high on confidence the boys from Shillong began their away journey, and that is when the doubts creeped out again.
With back to back losses to Arrows and Gokulam, one can firmly say that Lajong is very good at home but are poor away from it.
It will be their away games that will decide the fate of their season. If they are to avoid relegation, they need to win as many home games as possible and try not to lose too many games on the road.
