Salgocar-Lajong match drawn

It was Shillong Lajong which dominated the game in the first half, however, their forwards failed to convert as many as three easy opportunities that came their way.

National striker Sushil Kumar was not in his best form as he failed to take control of the ball and fumbled a number of times.

In the second half, Salgaogar changed the gear and almost reversed the game in their favour in the 34th minute had the Chidih Edeh's penalty shot not went over the goal post.

Shillong-born and Salgaogar midfielder Rocus Lamare has been ruled out to play at the AFC match schedule to be held at Uzbekistan next week due to an injury he received today.

Lajong's coach P Reddy said he is happy with the draw as it only showed that the team had improved from the past five encounters where they lost both at home and away matches.

The Reds achieved their primary target of not getting "relegated", the coach said.

However, the secondary target set by the team to reach the first half of the I-League table did not materialise.

Salgaocar's coach Karim Bencherifa also expressed satisfaction at the result.

"It was a 50-50 match, an average game. Both teams played fair and good football," Karim said, admitting that it was not a high-intensity game as expected by the crowd.

While it would be holiday for both the teams, the break would mean that Shillong Lajong U-20 I-League match will get a boost from the senior coach when they play in Kolkata this Sunday.

The Goan side are looking forward to prepare for their remaining AFC encounter and a time-table of activities have been drawn already, Karim said.