BHUBANESWAR
Jamshedpur FC finished the group stage of the Kalinga Super Cup with a perfect record, beating Shillong Lajong 2-0 in their Group B encounter on Saturday.
Khalid Jamil’s side had already qualified for the semifinals and will now take on the winners of Group A, East Bengal, in the first semifinal on January 24.
This dead rubber game played true to its name for a majority of the first half, with neither team too eager to extend themselves and jeopardise the fixtures coming up for them in the season. The line-ups reflected this, as both coaches opted to give untested youngsters and fresh faces a run out on the pitch.
While Lajong has been hugely popular in its re-emergence in the I-League, here it was clearly struggling for control, with Jamshedpur hogging possession. They did very little with it, though, with the best chances falling within one minute of each other in the first quarter of the game.
Seiminlen Doungel conjured the first on his own, running at the Lajong defence, cutting to his left and letting fly from 25 yards. Goalkeeper Bishal Lama, one of the changes for Lajong, parried it to safety. A minute later, an even clearer chance arrived for Thongkhosiem Haokip, courtesy of Muhammad Uvais’ cross from the left. Haokip connected with the low-fizzing ball inside the six-yard box but sent it agonisingly wide.
Jamshedpur took the lead right on the edge of half time, with Haokip again at the centre of the action. Jitendra Singh dropped a hopeful ball into the box, which was brought down expertly by the Haokip. The forward, having drawn the defender to him, smartly played a pass through to Sanan Mohammed K inside the box. He made no mistake, blasting it into the net.
Jamshedpur played the second half with just enough caution and verve to keep Lajong at bay without running themselves into the ground. Haokip got a goal for himself, heading in a cross by Sanan in the 74th minute, as Jamshedpur wrapped up a comfortable victory.
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