Shillong, Oct 22: Nongkseh SSCC registered a convincing 4–1 victory over Kuppuraj FC in their debut I-League 3 match at the SSA Stadium today evening, with a strong second half performance helping them secure all three points.
Owanijuh Pajuh opened the scoring in the 38th minute of the Group C match before captain Hardy Cliff Nongbri netted twice in the 50th and 55th minutes. Ieitlang Syiemlieh added the fourth goal in the 58th minute, while Jaymz Bryan Pale scored a late consolation for Kuppuraj in the 88th minute.
The Kuppuraj team list looked awfully familiar to anyone who’s watched Shillong Premier League football, with nine out of the starting lineup drawn from Nangkiew Irat SC, including the coach Amity Tongper and manager to boot.
The contest began evenly with both sides finding spaces and took shots at the goal but the momentum shifted towards Nongkseh post the first 15 minutes. Nongkseh settled into the match and began looking for opportunities to break forward. Their first attempt on target came within the opening five minutes, although the Kuppuraj goalkeeper Emerald Dan was equal to the effort.
Nongkseh captain Hardy Nongbri led the team’s attacking play, finding his team’s first real chance in the 32nd minute with a corner, which however was headed over the crossbar by Kynsailang Khongsit.
The breakthrough finally arrived in the 38th minute. A superb assist by Kynsailang was converted into goal by Nongkseh’s latest signing Owanijuh Pajuh, who fired from the edge of the penalty box to put Nongkseh in the lead.
Kuppuraj attempted to respond before the interval and won a corner but was easily cleared by Nongkseh’s defence. Nongkseh also came close to extending their advantage when Hamedamanbha Wahlang tried his luck in the 44th minute, but the effort missed the crossbar. Nongkseh went into the half time break with a 1–0 lead.
The second half, however, proved decisive as Nongkseh took greater control of the match and quickly increased their advantage. Hardy Nongbri doubled the lead in the 50th minute, giving the hosts a strong start after the restart and putting Kuppuraj under additional pressure.
Nongbri struck again five minutes later, scoring his second goal of the match in the 55th. Nongkseh added another goal in the 58th minute through Ieitlang, who was charged at by Emerald. A lob of the goalkeeper was heading towards goal and was helped by a couple of touches by Kuppuraj players in a vain attempt to clear the ball. The quick succession of goals after the break extended Nongkseh’s advantage to 4–0 and left Kuppuraj with a difficult task if they were to get back into the contest.
The visitors nevertheless kept looking for a breakthrough and eventually found one in the 88th minute through Jaymz, a Meghalaya lad but not one seen in Nangkiew Irat’s Shillong Premier League team.
The goal came after a costly mix-up in the Nongkseh defence. Kynsailang attempted to pass the ball back to goalkeeper Wanteilang Malngiang, but Jaymz intercepted the pass before the goalkeeper could regain control. The Kuppuraj forward then outmanoeuvred Malngiang and found the net to reduce the deficit to 4–1.
Earlier in the day, Godavari FC came from a goal down to beat Lakecity FC 5-3.
Lakecity went ahead in the 24th minute through Atharva Charki but Godavari came back with goals by Yhoto Lohe (another Nangkiew Irat player) in the 26th and 41st and Syed Suhail Pasha (34′).
Suhail added another in the 59th to make it 4-1 but Lakecity fought their way back into the contest with goals from Altamash Sayed (72′) and Arshad P (78′). A late goal by Ansil Rasheed (90’+5) sealed the contest in Godavari’s favour, however.
The competition continues on Saturday with Kuppuraj taking on Lakecity at 9AM and Chhaygaon FC taking on Nongkseh at 5PM.
(Nongkseh SSCC photo)
