Visiting team Mohun Bagan came up with an escalating performance as it drubbed host Shillong Lajong FC 3-0 in the I-League encounter at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in Shillong on Saturday.
The scorers, Asier Pierrick Dipanda (30'), Akram Moghrabi (86') and Sheikh Faiaz (89'), helped Bagan to a deserving win. This win proppelled it to the third spot in the league table, with 20 points from its 12 games so far.
Bagan was onto an attacking mode right from the beginning on a cold evening in Shillong. Although Lajong too initially seemed to attack, it mostly played a defensive game throughout the evening.
By the 20th minute, Lajong had a good possession of the ball, while the visitor was finding it difficult to do the same. It struggled to take its chances and break the deadlock.
However, the opening goal finally came in the 30th minute, when Asier Pierrick Dipanda Dicka headed the ball off Watson to the back of the Lajong net.
Lajong almost equalised at the stroke of half-time, when Samuel Lalmuanpuia hit a powerful volley, only to be denied by Bagan keeper Shilton Paul.
Prior to the half-time, Bagan made a tactical change, bringing in Sk. Faiaz for Azharuddin Mallick.
The second half began on a similar note. However, the pressure of the first-half goal was getting the better of the host. Any desperate attempt to get an equaliser was of no use, as Bagan played intelligent football to keep denying it of the opportunity.
Lajong’s Koffi did come up with a chance to equalise off a header, but to no avail. However, it was the visitor, who scored a couple of back to back goals in the dying minutes to prove its dominance.
Akram Moghrabi doubled the lead in the 86th minute off a cool assist from Raynier, while the final goal was scored by Sheikh Faiaz in the 89th minute, to seal the tie.
With this, Bagan will now travel to Coimbatore to face Chennai City FC on February 7, while Lajong faces Minerva Punjab FC on the same day.
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