Ranti Martins scores a blazing hat-trick as East Bengal subject Lajong to a 4-0 revenge
EAST BENGAL RAN OVER visitors Shillong Lajong in a dominant 4-0 victory at the Barasat Stadium this evening.
It was the danger-man Ranti Martins who ran rampage in Lajong's defensive third by notching up a hat-trick.
The Shillong-based club had a chance to score early on, when Boithang Haokip sent in a cross to Bipin Singh who was poorly marked by Sanju Pradhan. But Singh sent it screaming away from the target.
It came back to bite them when 16 minutes into the game, Ranti Martins got a cross from Sanju Pradhan and flicked it in.
Less than 10 minutes later, Mehtab sent a precise ball to Ranti Martins who fired it goalwards on the first touch. The ball went in like a bullet, beating the keeper. Suddenly East Bengal were 2-0 ahead.
And it took just about another 10 minutes for Martins to complete his hat-trick. He and Mohammed Rafique combined to cover much ground and invade the Lajong penalty box. The two exchanged pass to beat the defenders and the keeper and in the end Martins was left with the easy task of footing the ball into an empty net.
The Nigerian striker so beloved by the Red and Gold fans had now taken his goal tally in the I-League season to 7, leading the race for the Golden Boot. And East Bengal were 3-0 up and the game looked won even before half-time.
But Bikash Jairu, another East Bengal player in form, added to Lajong's misery early on in the second half. It was Mohammed Rafique again with the assist, his shot finding Jairu who let fly. Lajong keeper Kaith almost got hold of the ball but dropped it, which sent it past the goal line. 4-0.
The visitors tried hard to come back into the game. Uilliams tried a long-ranger that Luis Barreto collected. Then Yamagata got a shot at the goal that went a bit too high.
But things went even worse for Lajong when Konsham Chinglensana Singh earned his second yellow 80 minutes into the game, for a nasty tackle on Bernard Mendy. A man down, Lajong spent the last few minutes trying desperately not to concede another.
This win is a revenge of sorts for East Bengal. In the previous occasion these two clubs met, it was on the last weekend of the previous season. Shillong Lajong, the home team, had beaten the Red and Golds squarely by a 5-0 margin. There's little doubt that they were dealt a nearly equal measure of damage; one that puts their campaign in serious trouble since they have suffered a serious lapse of momentum. On 7 points from 5 games, they are languishing on the 6th spot in the league table.
East Bengal, meanwhile, have climbled to the top of the points table, with 14 points to their name from 7 games. Thanks to back to back home wins against Aizawl FC and Shillong Lajong - where they scored 6 goals and conceded none - they are now officially over the loss to Bengaluru FC and riding a winning momentum that has seen them re-established as a major player in the title race this season.
