The Indian Arrows won their second game of the I-League campaign, defeating 10-man Shillong Lajong 3-0 at the Ambedkar Stadium in the capital on Tuesday.
Jitendra Singh, Nongdamba Naorem and Rahul KP struck for the AIFF developmental side, while Lajong were reduced to 10 in the 60th minute after Lalrohlua was sent off.
After a 2-0 reversal in their last encounter against Gokulam Kerala, a robust Arrows took to the field and attacked from the first whistle.
In the seventh minute, Jeakson Singh’s through-ball flummoxed the Lajong defenders and was latched onto by Abhijit Sarkar, who then ran on the wings. Sarkar crossed from the flanks but his cross went wide of the target.
On the 19-minute mark, defender Jitendra Singh burst forward from a throw-in and netted the ball to give the Indian colts a solitary goal lead. Dheeraj Singh made his first save of the match in the dying embers of the first half when he kept out a header from Abdoulaye Koffi. The half-time scoreline read 1-0 in favour of the Indian Arrows.
A Daniel Odafin shot in the 46th minute itself flew inches over the Arrows bar as Bobby Nongbet’s team made clear their intent to attack.
Lajong hovered around the Indian Arrows penalty box, but did little to force their way through as the Arrows defence held strong and thwarted the visiting team’s attacks with ease. Counter-attacking in the 57th minute, Khumanthem Ninthoinganba’s shot from distance came close to doubling the Indian Arrows lead as the colts searched for some breathing space from relentless Lajong pressure.
In the 60th minute, Lalrohlua was given his marching orders by the referee for a rash tackle on Ninthoi. The Indian Arrows, trying to take advantage of their numerical advantage, stepped up the ante to double their lead as Rahim Ali’s shot from distance went inches over the bar.
Nongdamba Naorem came on for Abhijit Sarkar in the 76th minute as Indian Arrows made a change to keep Lajong at bay. A minute later, Lajong almost had their equaliser when Kynsailong Khongsit’s lob threatened Dheeraj’s goal but went wide instead.
In the 86th minute, substitute Nongdamba Naorem put the tie to bed as he waltzed past five Lajong players with ease and slotted the ball home to double Arrows’ lead. It was an exceptional piece of skill, which saw the Manipuri winger start the move on the left wing before taking on the entire Lajong defence before burying his shot.
Rahul KP tripled the lead in second half injury time, as his shot from distance beat Lajong keeper Lachenpa Phurba at his near-post to make it 3-0.
With this, the Arrows now have six points from their five fixtures while Lajong now have 10 points from seven games played.