I-League: Sporting Goa score first win away at Shillong Lajong

Shillong Lajong FC suffered their first defeat of the 2013/14 campaign, while Sporting Clube de Goa scored their first win as the Goans won 1-0 away at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in Shillong on Saturday afternoon.

In what was an edge-of-the seat thriller as the Flaming Oranje were able to maintain their unbeaten streak against the Reds courtesy off an Ogba Kalu Nnanna header, which was scored in the first half off a well taken corner.

The match started on a slow yet calculated pace, as both teams were willing to play the wait and watch game. As the game progressed though, it was the visiting Goans who started to dominate the play more and they looked threatening on the counter attacks.

Meanwhile,Lajong’s Taisuke Matsugae was substituted with Subhash Singh in the 36th minute. It was in the 40th minute, when Shillong Lajong conceded a corner and Kalu rose high to head in a perfectly placed header beyond the reach of keeper Vinay Singh.

On the back foot, the Reds then pushed forward for the equaliser even as the first half drew to a close with a Boithang Hoakip free-kick, which saw the ball kiss the woodwork.

The second-half was a well fought affair with both teams playing more offensively. Egged on by their ‘Lajong Faithfuls’, Shillong Lajong FC displayed some beautiful football, but could not find the equaliser. Thangboi Singto then brought on Tuboi who replaced Cornell Glen in the 66th minute of the match.

The Manipuri almost made a telling contribution, but his shot went wide of goal, much to the chagrin of the spectators. Lajong came agonising close yet again, when Subhash nearly scored off a swift counter.

The dying minutes of the match was a see-saw battle to keep the ball, even as the referee signalled 4 minutes of added time for Lajong FC to save the game. That was not enough however, as Sporting Goa saw out the rest of the match, to win the close encounter by one goal to nil.