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Shillong Lajong celebrated their return to their home soil as they breezed past Namdhari 3-0 in their I-League 2023-24 contest at the SSA Ground No. 1 (Polo Grounds) in Shillong on Saturday (December 23).
It was an easy day at the office for the home side as they returned to winning ways after two back-to-back defeats. Meanwhile, the Namdharis failed to put up any fight as they succumbed to the heavy defeat.
The Reds kickstarted the game in high spirits in front of their passionate fans and El Hadji Abdou Karim Samb opened the scoring in the 27th minute. They were unlucky to not score more goals after missing a few opportunities in the first half.
However, at the half-time whistle, the home team had a 1-0 advantage in their account.
Two second-half goals sealed the deal for Shillong Lajong
After remaining unbeaten for the first eight matches in the I-League 2023-24, the Reds lost two back-to-back games. However, they made amendments in front of their home crowd by putting Namdhari FC to the sword.
Renan Paulino de Souza doubled the lead for the Reds in the 54th minute. It broke the confidence of Namdhari FC as their shoulders fell.
This game was not all about Lajong's attack but their defence as well. Their defenders did a wonderful job at the back and never allowed Namdhari to come back into the game.
The defence was alert to every situation and they thwarted every danger that came in their way. The Reds looked good to secure the full three points from this fixture but an injury-time goal from Kenstar Kharshong proved to be the cherry on the top.
The youngster scored a goal in the 98th minute to wrap up the year for Shillong Lajong in a memorable way. In the end, it was a comfortable 3-0 victory for the home side.
