SINGTO'S BOYS pulled off an upset result at Barasat as Shillong Lajong laboriously held Mohun Bagan to a 1-1 draw in tonight's I-League clash.
Sanjay Sen's hand was forced to make twi changes to the starting line-up that clinched the crucial victory at Kanteerava on Saturday. He dropped a card-ridden Pronay Halder from the squad to have him fresh for Saturday's match against Sporting Clube de Goa, replacing him with Bikramjit Singh. Raju Gaikwad also had to be relegated to the bench to accomodate Sarthak Golui, the stipulated U-22 player.
Shillong Lajong coach Thangboi Singto sought to make a thorough change in the line-up he fielded in this game with an emphasis particularly on getting an early goal; failure to do which had seen his side end up with a 0-0 draw against Aizawl FC in the previous game. He brought in Chingleshana Singh Konsham, Robin Gurung, Uilliams Souza Silva and Jacob Lalrawngbawla to replace Nimdorjee Tamang, Yusuke Yamagata, Boithang Haokip and Lalrammuana.
Going into the game, Mohun Bagan were being seen as the overwhelming favourites. But the way Lajong started the match, it looked like they had come in with a plan. Early on, Uilliams made a run past a number of defenders to find himself well near the goal. He let fly, albeit way off target.
Former East Bengal rainmaker Penn Orji also got into the action early on. He got a shot on goal, dribbling past a fumbling Kinghsuk, but Bagan keeper Debjit Majumder did well to save it. Then he sent a good ball hoping to find Pena inside the box but Debjit got hold of this one as well.
Mohun Bagan's Dhanachandra Singh ventured ahead, feeding Cornell Glen in scoring range who shot it wide. But poor defending almost made the home side pay as Penn managed to get himself a good amount of space, but sent it wide.
Glen and Jeje combined to invade the Lajong box and passed it to an onrushing Bikramjit Singh who was too eager to go for glory and sent it too high.
Once again Lajong threatened. Uilliams beat Dhanachandra and fed Fabio who ran straight into the Bagan box with nothing but Debjit blocking his way. The keeper threw himself at Fabio's feet to make the save.
This followed a few minutes of pressure on the Lajong box as a Bagan attack saw Glen and Bikramjit both take shots but in the end Pritam Singh managed to get it out. Then Jeje managed to feed a good ball to Sony who took a hard-driven shot but Robin Gurung managed to block it in the bud.
But the Lajong counters were proving to be ominously more effective. Uilliams once again ran past a few defenders, but Debjit saved it. But even he couldn't be there to stop the attempt when from a corner kick by Uilliams saw Aibor take a shot towards the goal, and Konsham Singh run in to make an easy final touch to send the ball rolling in. The home crowd was stunned; half an hour into the game, Shillong Lajong were ahead in the backyard of the defending champions.
Mohun Bagan raised the intensity of their game after conceding. A corner from Katsumi saw Sony take a good shot on goal, but former Mariner Aiborlang Khongjee made a goal-line save to keep Lajong ahead.
Then the away side almost scored their second. Penn fed Pena with a pracise through ball and he was about to have a reasonably easy shot on the money but Kingshuk Debnath came charging in, tackling him to deny the attempt. The scored stayed 0-1 at half-time.
As the second period began, Sanjay Sen had a few surprising moves to make. He introduced Souvik Chakraborty in the midfield, benching Kean Lewis. He also brought back the now injury-free Balwant Singh, replacing Cornell Glen who was having a woeful night against his parent club.
Bagan went all out to get back even. Sony got another shot that Aiborlang managed to take the sting out of. But the inevitable happened soon. It was Norde to Bikramjit, Bikramjit to Jeje Lalpekhlua. The forward, who scored in the previous game as well, took a quick turn on the first touch, got himself some room and sent the ball straight in. The assembled eleven thousand fans jumped onto their feet. The game was level at the hour mark.
Soon it was for Lajong to adopt a disruptive style of play. Even the coach and support staff did theri bit by picking an argument with the referee, yelling at him at the touchline and holding up the game for a while.
But the home team were dominating now. Jeje Lalpekhlua ran in hard again and Ralte brought him down. Penn Orji kicked the ball away to deny them a quick free-kick and got booked. Then Katsumi and Jeje combined for another attack that Aiborlang cleared.
A long throw from Sarthak Dolui almost created trouble for Lajong as goalkeeper Kaith fumbled trying to grab it but got it in the second attampt. Then came a golden chance for Bagan; a Sony Norde corner gave Balwant Singh a clear shot at goal. But the latter hit the post.
Katsumi made a run as well, forcing a foul out of Lajong defenders just outside the penalty box. The resulting free-kick, taken by Sony, did not yield the desired result.
Time-wasting tactics from Lajong held up play several times as the regulation time and 5 added minutes ticked past. One final chance came Bagan's way when Jeje got the ball inside the box but Kaith managed to grab the ball out of his feet.
Finally, the long whistle came, and it was a strage scene at Barasat. The home team, who had climbed to the top of the table with 15 points from 7 matches, were the mellow side while the Lajong players left the pitch positively beaming; clearly delighted to have a point out of Bagan after suffering a 4-0 defeat to East Bengal at this very ground not long ago. They remain 6th on the table with 9 points from 7 matches.
Bagan will consider themselves unlucky to miss a couple of easy chances, including hitting the crossbar. Their title challenge, at this point, is far from over. But this slip-up will serve as a reminder for the Mariners that any slack in a league like this will make them pay a heavy price. A win against the mighty Bengaluru does not ensure a cruising victory against a struggling Shillong Lajong.