Shillong, June 27: Mawlai SC went to the top of the table in the OC Blue Shillong Premier League (SPL) 2021-22 after registering a 2-0 victory against Langsning FC at Third Ground, Polo, here on Monday.
Fullmoon Mukhim (77’) and Pynbha Suting (89’) were the scorers and Mawlai now have 6 points to Langsning and Rangdajied United’s 4 apiece.
Langsning looked dangerous in the first half when making fast, attacking moves while Mawlai appeared more likely to score by getting bodies forwards and harrying the defence.
Still, the fans, who were skewed in numbers towards Mawlai, had to wait until late in the day before the goals came. A good cross from the right beat Surjay Kumar Pariyar (making his first appearance as Langsning goalkeeper this season) and he went to ground. Team mate Iakmenlang Khongjee kept the ball out but only put it as far away as Mukhim, who came steaming in and slammed the ball into an empty net.
The second goal came about when Mawlai were looking to actually run down the clock. Samuel L Kynshi cut the ball back from the far corner and it landed at the unmarked Suting’s feet on the edge of the box and the substitute made no mistake, aiming it low past Pariyar to put Langsning’s hopes of a comeback to rest.
The first half was more even, though Mawlai were the more dangerous. Langsning made a couple of changes to their line-up but retained Dibinroy Nongspung and Ambilstar Sun as the bedrock of their defence. Still, there were times when the back line appeared shaky but Mawlai failed to capitalise on their opportunities.
The second half is when the game came alive with Donlad Diengdoh getting a shot on target within the first half a minute of the restart for Mawlai. Nongspung then tried a long-range attempt but Mawlai goalie Neithovilie Chalieu put in a dive to his left to keep it out.
Just before the hour mark, Kynshi curled in a beautiful shot but it struck the crossbar. Three minutes later, he put a free-kick into the box but somehow the ball was missed by everyone.
Langsning’s best effort came in the 68th minute when Kitboklang Pale struck the upright with a low shot from inside the box. Though a couple of young, exciting players in the form of Shano Tariang and Figo Syndai were brought on, Langsning could not come any closer to scoring, with their football looking disjointed and increasingly desperate, especially after they went behind.
On Tuesday, defending champions Shillong Lajong FC will face Nangkiew Irat SC at 4pm.
