Shillong, Sep 7: Shillong Lajong defeated defending champions Langsning 2-0 in the Shillong Premier League at the JN Stadium here today.
Kenstar Kharshong put Lajong into the lead in the 13th minute and Freestar Kharbangar put the match beyond doubt in the second minute of second half stoppage time.
Langsning were exceptional in their passing, with Kitboklang Pale, Kynsaibor Lhuid and Figo Syndai combing up front along with the midfielders, but their finishing was dire. They have scored just one goal in 270 minutes this season, their worst goal scoring start for the last five years (2014 is the last year TSR has statistics for).
The defence of Langsning was also a little sketchy and that saw Kharshong flick a header into the back of the net off a Mahesh Naorem free-kick. Naorem pulled up with injury soon after, however, and hobbled off the field to be replaced by Lalrohlua.
Langsning were then pretty dominant and looked like threatening to score on numerous occasions. However, most of their forays into the Lajong half of the pitch were slow and well-planned instead of being counterattacks. This meant that Lajong had plenty of time to pull their players back and they defended successfully.
Just before the final whistle Kharbangar found himself with the ball and struck a knee high ball that hit the upright and crossed the line.
With three wins from their four games Lajong are riding high at the top of the SPL table with nine points.
On Monday Nangkiew Irat are scheduled to face Laban at 3:30PM.
(TSR photo. Langsning are in red, Shillong Lajong in white)
