After a bitter loss in one of the most important games of the season, the Kolkata derby, Mohun Bagan will be looking to win in their next match against Shillong Lajong at the JLN Stadium in Shillong Tuesday. The Mariners lost two games on the trot for the first time in the I-League this season.
The defending I-League champions still remain atop the table despite losing two consecutive games although Bengaluru FC have caught up with them. Both teams are on 25 points at the moment but the Kolkata outfit have a better head to head difference against the Bangalore side.
Shillong Lajong are currently fourth in the table, 11 points behind the Mariners, but that won't count going into the match at Shillong. Mohun Bagan got a shock just late last month in Mizoram as I-League debutantes Aizawl FC defeated them 2-1, thus handing their first defeat of the season.
The away side have neither head coach Sanjoy Sen nor assistant coach Shankarlal Chakraborty in the sidelines for the match as both of them are suspended. However, that should not be a deterrent for Bagan to aim for the three points, according to Sen. "The position we are in, the only challenge for us is to perform well and get the three points. That is the only challenge for our boys," the Indian coach was quoted by Goal as saying ahead of the match.
"We are a young side with a couple of experienced players as well and we will give everything,."
Getting past Lajong in a comfortable manner will not be easy as the Reds from Meghalaya come into the match at the back of a 3-1 win over Aizawl FC in a North-East derby game last week itself. Brazilian striker Fabio Pena may be absent from the game owing to a groin injury but that is expected not to dent the home side too much from going for the glory.
"We have been speaking about goals. Football is won by goals and we did that in the last game but that is in the past," Lajong coach Thangboi Singto threw caution ahead of the match. "An even big challenge awaits us tomorrow [against Bagan]. I regard Mohun Bagan as one of the best teams in the league; not only the foreigners but the Indian players that they have are very high," he added in the pre-match press conference.
Previous result this season: Mohun Bagan 1-1 Shillong Lajong
Where to watch live
I-League: Shillong Lajong vs Mohun Bagan is scheduled to kick-off at 4:30 p.m. IST (11 a.m. GMT), April 5.
Viewers in India and the rest of the subcontinent can catch the game on Ten 2 (Ten Action).
Online streaming will be available on tensports.com.
Live scores of the match can be found on the I-League twitter handle.
