Shillong, Oct 1: Holders Langsning suffered a huge setback in their effort to retain their Shillong Premier League title after losing 2-0 to Shillong Lajong at the SSA Stadium here this evening.
A fantastic crowd turned out for one of the key battles of SPL 2026 and Lajong did not disappoint, with a clinical win that took them back to the top of the provisional standings.
Iohborlang L Lyngkhoi (45’) and Freddy Jyrwa (80’) were the scorers in an entertaining 90 minutes of football.
Lajong now have 17 points from eight games, with Langsning dropping to second with 16 from eight. Also happy with this result will be Mawlai (15 from seven), who are also strong contenders for the trophy. Although not terminal, Langsning’s fate is not fully in their hands any longer. They still have one game to go against fourth-placed Nongkseh (13 from seven) and will need other results to go their way if they are to defend their title.
Before kick-off, a solemn minute’s silence was observed for Banteilang Wahlang, a young footballer from the SSA leagues who died yesterday.
The frenetic match boiled over into physical confrontation a couple of times, such was the determination of both sides to come out on top. Nerves were high and that led to uncharacteristic mistakes from both sets of players.
In under 10 minutes Langsning gave away the ball at the back but disaster was averted as goalkeeper Rajat Paul Lyngdoh charged Colinsalmon Lyngdoh and blocked the Lajong player’s shot.
Freddy was in the thick of the action throughout. He did fantastic work to meet a long ball and swerve past Rajat Paul but his teammate Wilbert Marbaniang missed from close range as he slid in for the pass at the far post. Wilbert would go on to miss from in front of goal early in the second 45 minutes as well.
The woodwork also saw a lot of contact with the ball throughout the game. Riborlang L Lyngkhoi struck the crossbar in the 42nd minute and three minutes later Iohborlang’s free-kick clipped the upright before going in.
Lajong thus had the lead going into the break but it appeared very likely that there were more goals still to come in the contest.
Langsning nearly had the equaliser 30 seconds into the second half when SLFC were guilty of giving the ball away. Kyrmenskhem Mukhim’s shot was on target but Lajong goalie Lakpa Lama had it covered.
There were several more opportunities for the reigning champs but Samuel Phawa, Mebanshngain Kurkalang and Syed Ahmed were all off target.
At the other end Badondor Marbaniang made a great effort on a high ball but Rajat Paul dived to palm it onto the woodwork and this time the ball stayed out.
The keeper was made to work extra hard this game and he would concede again later. Langsning casually yielded the ball to Lajong, who toyed with the defenders before a pass was made to Freddy, who took his shot. Rajat Paul got an outstretched arm to it but the ball had enough momentum to trickle over the line.
Even so, Langsning were not without further chances – Donlad Diengdoh was given acres of space in the box but Lakpa pulled off a save to deny him. Samuel then smashed the crossbar with a powerful left-footer and Richie Kharbani went narrowly wide just before full time.
As the race for the title approaches boiling point, tomorrow will witness another crucial match as Mawlai will be up against Sawmer at 3pm. While Mawlai will start as strong favourites, seventh-placed Sawmer are more than capable of pulling off an upset, so the result is far from certain.
(Shillong Sports Association photo. Langsning in red-white-blue, Shillong Lajong in yellow-white)
