A quest for redemption underlines season's final fixture in Shillong as Lajong host Bagan
BEING DOWN BY 5 GOALS, not many are giving Shillong Lajong much of a chance to make a comeback in their Federation Cup semi-final tie against Mohun Bagan. But that's not the case with Penn Orji.
Speaking to reporters after the practice session on Thursday, the Nigerian central medio sounded upbeat when he claimed Lajong were going to score 7 goals against Bagan, and get to the final.
When asked about the source of his optimism, he said,
"No one is giving us a chance. That's what is motivating us. This is football, anything can happen."
As if to balance out his bravado, Sanjoy Sen sounded cautious to the core when he talked about facing Lajong tomorrow,
"They have a good young side and experienced foreigners and beat East Bengal thrice in 15 days.”
And his team selection shows his seriousness. All the major players have been taken on board for the 3 remaining games of the Mariners. It's unclear whether Sen intends to field most of his big guns against Shillong, but the seriousness shows. The idea is to keep the squad together till the end of the season, and use this second leg semi-final to get into a rhythm that may carry them past the two big games coming up later this month. Sen summed up his target,
"We missed the I-League title by a whisker... we need to win the Fed Cup for our supporters."
Sony Norde and Azharuddin Mallick got a late call-up to the squad and despite all the hurry missed their flight to Guwahati and reached Shillong late. There's a good chance Norde will not feature in the starting line-up, neither will Cornell Glen and Jeje Lalpekhlua. Although the Lajong back four can breathe a sigh of relief at their absence, coach Thangboi Singto made it clear that there was no room for complacency,
“For us it is one more chance for redemption. The players should take this game as a big challenge and aim to end the season on a high.”
It's the last home game of a roller-coaster season where Shillong Lajong fought relegation till the very end, then made a turnaround of sorts by beating East Bengal in the Federation Cup quarter finals. Now, as they play the possible final game of the season, a good performance is the least they can do to thank their fans who have stood with them through thick and thin.
And their recent performance at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium has not been too bad. Mohun Bagan's title challenge got decimated in this very ground when a late equaliser saw Lajong steal a draw out of them.
Sanjoy Sen, still serving his suspension, sat stone-faced in the stands that day as the players fell to their knees, dejected, after the final whistle rang out.
Which may be part of the reason why he is taking this match so seriously. Perhaps he sees getting a win over Lajong at their own ground as a way to make up for that night's follies to some extent. Maybe Mohun Bagan, just like Shillong Lajong, will take to the pitch seeking a redemption of their own.
Looking at the way Bagan have performed whenever their major players have sat out, it appears that these two teams are going to be quite evenly matched tomorrow. Who will come out on top in this tight battle for redemption in this final fight at the Meghalaya capital adds to the aura of suspense around this otherwise nearly-irrelevant contest.
