I-League : Lajong beat Mumbai FC in a slugfest

Goals for Shillong Lajong FC came from Taisuke Matsugae and a brace from man of the match Cornell Glen whereas Mumbai FC had Ahmadi and Perambara on the score sheet.

Shillong Lajong could not have wished for a better start after Taisuke Matsugae opened the scoring for Lajong in the 5th minute with a brilliant individual display exposing the weak Mumbai backline as he went pass both Rodriguez and Perambara before putting the ball in the bottom corner, past Mumbai custodian, Kunal Sawant.

The hosts then got back on level terms in the 15th minute after Kamaljit Kumar delivered a beautiful through ball to Afghanistan international Sandjar Ahmadi who then put his shot past Lajong goalkeeper Vinay Singh in the back of the net.

With the scores level, and both teams probing for the lead, a lively contest unfolded between the two sides. Lajong’s sheer pace against Mumbai’s aerial prowess resulted in a clash of styles with players going to the ground at regular intervals of time.

Lajong, who were spurred on by a small but lively group of away fans, enjoyed a good spell of possession that saw them create plenty of chances and were awarded with frequent corners.

The industrious Glen Cornell gave Lajong the lead when he picked the ball from the midfield and ran at the Mumbai defence.

Cornell’s pace saw him dribble past Anwar Ali and once in a one-on-one situation against the keeper, and the striker fired an unstoppable drive past Sawant in the 60th minute to make it 2-1.

After this goal the game was very much one sided as Lajong kept on pressing, looking for their third goal and they were rewarded in the 78th minute after Glen found his second.

A defensive mistake from Ashutosh Mehta was capitalised by Cornell Glen who exposed Anwar Ali once again to get Lajong’s third.

Cornell Glen could have finished with a hat trick but Kunal Sawant did well to come off his line to stop Subash Singh’s cross.

Mumbai brought Zohib Amiri into the game with a little less than half an hour left on the clock.

They were outsped by the Lajong attack and their frustration boiled over when Amiri slapped Minchol Son for a straight red card.

Meanwhile, Cornell shone in the lone striker role and linked up brilliantly with his team mates and drew the defenders out of the box to allow the wingers and midfielders to join the attack.

The striker got his second of the match when he once again, quite effortlessly, ran past three defenders, and smashed a left footed drive into net.

The game thereafter turned ugly towards the end of the 90 minutes. Mumbai FC then managed to scare the visiting team through a goal in the 92nd minute from Ritesh Perambara, but it was all too late as the match ended in the visitor’s favour.