Shillong, Apr 9: Shillong Lajong will play their last away match in the first stage of the Indian Football League 2025-26 against Namdhari in Ludhiana tomorrow. Kick-off will be at 4PM.
Lajong suffered a bad defeat at the hands of Dempo just two days ago and will need to quickly turn things around when facing Namdhari.
That loss saw SLFC slip from second to fourth in the standings but they are still in the top half. Following the conclusion of Stage 1, the top teams will feature in a championship group and the bottom clubs in a relegation group. Lajong’s obvious first aim is to make it to the former.
Like Dempo, Namdhari have had a weak season in the IFL. They are currently in eighth position with only one win, four draws and two defeats. Their only victory came against bottom side Real Kashmir on 25th March, although they were involved in a spirited match against toppers Diamond Harbour on Monday, which the latter won 5-4. Namdhari never held the lead but found ways to stay in the game until the final whistle and the players should have a certain amount of confidence after that performance.
Lajong enjoyed the majority of possession against Dempo but struggled to convert it into clear chances. And when they did get into attacking positions they lacked finishing touches in the final third. They’ve had precious little time to work on those issues even as they have had to travel from Goa to Punjab for this fixture but, after a strong season on the whole so far, they should be able to bounce back again.
(Shillong Lajong file photo)