JOIN USHASC return to losing ways
Shillong Lajong ride on Lyngdoh strike to register 1-0 win over Aircraftmen.
Any hopes of a turnaround in fortunes for Hindustan Aeronautics Sports Club were quickly put to bed after they crashed to a 0-1 loss to Shillong Lajong in the I-League at the Bangalore Football stadium here on Wednesday.
Bouyed by their first win of the season last Saturday, everybody expected the Aircraftmen to put in another winning performance. Instead, they were played out of the park by an enterprising Lajong side, which will feel unlucky to have won by just a solitary goal. After the defeat, HASC stay at the bottom on six points from 18 matches while Lajong are tenth with 21 points.
A packed crowd, consisting mainly of loud Lajong supporters, greeted the side with huge cheers, clearly expecting a good battle. That battle, however, never materialised as the away side took control of proceedings right from the beginning, stifling the home side with some good possession football.
India international Sushil Kumar, who is on loan from United Sikkim FC, started upfront with Australian Matthew Oswaldo Mayora and the duo posed a constant threat to the makeshift HASC backline. Pushing Biju Kumar, a centreback by trade, to defensive midfield clearly backfired with K Ramesh, partnering attacking leftback Rohit Chand in the centre of defence, especially struggling to cope with the strength and pace of the Lajong forwards.
Sushil had the first real chance of the game, but his shot was well saved by goalkeeper P Pramod. Pramod, captaining the side in the absence of Joseph Femi, again prevented the Meghalaya side from taking the lead when he came out quickly to stop John Menyongar from taking a strike after the midfielder was left all alone on the left. HASC, meanwhile, were finding it hard to keep possession, Lajong’s high pressing game causing constant problems for the Bangalore outfit.
The only goal of the match came in the 38th minute. Mayora played out a ball on the left to Eugeneson Lyngdoh, who found himself in acres of space. The former Bishop Cottons student, waltzed past the non-existent HASC defence to calmly slot the ball past Pramod with his left foot.
“We had several chances in the first half. Sushil had a couple and Matthew also could have had a goal. The one that actually went in was probably the most difficult,” Pradhyum Reddy, Lajong coach, told reporters after the match.
Ramesh was replaced soon after by Femi with Biju slotting back to centreback and Rohit Chand coming to midfield.
HASC started the second half with much more purpose but the final ball went abegging on most occasions. The Aircraftmen also had a decent penalty shout just after the hour mark when the ball seemed to strike Lallchhuanmawia’s arm inside the box. Referee Bikramjit P, who had a good view of the incident, waved play on despite vociferous protests from the home team. Lajong held onto possession well in the final minutes of the game to consign HASC to their ninth home defeat in ten matches. “I thought we completely controlled the first 45 and should have finished the game off. If we had got the second, I think HASC would have given up,” Reddy said. “We let them in a little in the second but I’m glad we held on,” he added.