Shillong, Nov 12: Shillong Lajong FC will host Sreenidi Deccan FC in the Indian Football League 2026–27 here on Friday in a meeting of the sides who finished second and third last season. Kick-off at the SSA Stadium will be at 6:30pm.
Lajong have never finished higher in the competition than they did last season. With a squad made up entirely of Indian players, coach Birendra Thapa’s side finished runners-up, a single point behind champions Diamond Harbour FC. The club moved quickly in the summer to keep that group together. Phrangki Buam, the league’s Most Valuable Player, signed a new three-year contract, as did Everbrightson Mylliempdah, captain Kenstar Kharshong, Tremiki Lamurong and Gladdy Kharbuli, most of them graduates of the Lajong Academy.
This season has started with a 1-0 win over Mohammedan SC at the Kalyani Stadium and a 1-1 draw with Chanmari FC at home. In Kalyani, Lajong had around two-thirds of the ball, took 32 shots and won 14 corners. The winner did not arrive until the 90th minute, when Nelson Rymbai finished Abelson Jachi’s cutback, but Lajong never stopped coming. Against Chanmari, they fell behind to a 24th-minute own goal and were level in the 78th, with Jachi scoring this time.
Thapa came away from that draw wanting more, saying, “In our last match we had 70 percent possession and controlled the game but football is not won on possession alone – we missed good chances and a single lapse at the back cost us all three points. Over the last few days, the boys have looked strong and positive in training. We have worked on improving our decision-making in the attacking third and cutting out defensive lapses, and we are ready to put in a strong performance tomorrow.”
Both Abelson and Nelson started those matches on the bench. Every one of Lajong’s 4 points has come from a goal involving a substitute, a measure of how deep Thapa’s squad runs and how readily he will change a game from the touchline. So far, the closing stages have belonged to Lajong.
Dead balls are another source of goals. Kenstar had a header saved and another come back off the woodwork in Kalyani, Joedson dos Santos has caused problems from corners and Lajong win plenty of them.
In open play, Jota, signed from Chanmari in the summer, is the player who knits midfield and attack together, while Damaitphang Lyngdoh sets the rhythm beside him. Everbrightson’s pace makes him the outlet on the break and Phrangki does his best work arriving late in the penalty area.
Jota and Joedson have also changed the make-up of an attack that was entirely Indian a year ago. Everbrightson, whose speed was central to last season’s counter-attacking game, welcomes the new arrivals. “While we played with an all-Indian attack last season that moved very quickly on the break, our foreign players this year bring great quality to the squad,” he said. “Playing at home in Shillong is always an honour and gives us a huge boost, and we want to give our fans plenty to cheer about.”
Sreenidi Deccan arrive for their third successive away match of the season. Coach Antonio Rueda, the Spaniard appointed in August after spells with Churchill Brothers and Gokulam Kerala, has taken 4 points from the first two – a 1-0 win over Rajasthan United FC in Jaipur on 1st November and a 1-1 draw with Real Kashmir FC in Srinagar a week later, when Sreenidi came from behind.
Rueda is pleased with that return, stating, “Our feeling is very good because we have four points from two very difficult away matches. We won in Rajasthan and could have won against Real Kashmir as well, where only a small mistake cost us all three points, so I am happy with the effort of the players.”
