Shillong Lajong FC got past a tentative East Bengal FC 2-1 in the second quarterfinal of the 133rd Durand Cup to secure a semifinal berth.
The match played at Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in Shillong saw the host take an early lead through the Brazilian forward Marcos Rudwere and protected the lone goal advantage till late in the fourth quarter when East Bengal found the equaliser through a beautiful volley from Nandhakumar Sekar.
The home side, though, regrouped quickly and regained the lead in the 83rd minute when substitute Figo Syndai tapped home to finish a well-orchestrated attack.
Still in the middle of its pre-season, East Bengal struggled to get its organisation in the attacking zone right despite having a greater share of ball possession (over 60 per cent).
Egged on by a partisan crowd, Shillong Lajong showed a better conversion rate and created the decisive openings to get the win. Shillong Lajong could well have won by a bigger margin had Rudware not seen his 20th-minute header from a Hardy Nongbri freekick coming off the crosspiece.
East Bengal made some incursions in the Lajong FC box but its attackers couldn’t produce the sharpness needed to outsmart the latter’s defence, especially its towering goalkeeper, Manas Dubey.
Shillong Lajong vs East Bengal - As it happened
East Bengal’s tentativeness in the attack also stemmed from the fact that its forwards like Dimitrios Diamantakos and Cleiton Silva were not able to perform to their true potential. The inadequate pre-season training, the aspect that the East Bengal coach Carles Cuadrat had mentioned prior to the start of the tournament, was telling of the red-and-gold brigade’s ability to come together as a cohesive unit.
Nandhakumar seemed to be the lone warrior in the East Bengal attack showing the desired fitness and he got the equaliser in the 77th minute following the arrival of P.V. Vishnu, who made a darting run on the left to release the former with the opportunity.
Shillong Lajong seemed to have prepared well under its Spanish coach Jose Hevia as the I-League team, which had pipped another ISL side FC Goa in the group stage before booking a quarterfinal berth, continued to show good balance between attack and defence to decisively end the challenge of mighty East Bengal.
Shillong Lajong FC now travels to Kolkata to meet the Guwahati-based NorthEast United FC for an interesting clash of the two regional rivals in the first semifinal match scheduled at the Salt Lake Stadium on Sunday.
A couple of strikes in the second half helped NorthEast United FC get the better of Indian Army FT 2-0 and book its place in the semifinals. The match at the SAI Stadium in Kokrajhar saw the opening session ending barren before NorthEast United came alive in the second half to end the valiant defence of the Indian Army.
Spaniards Nestor Albiach and Guillermo Fernandez found the target once each in the 52nd and 73rd minutes to secure the win for the Highlanders.
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