By Shillong Lajong Media

SHILLONG: Shillong Lajong FC tasted its first defeat of the tournament after Malki scored Three Goals via Kitbok, Devinroy & Timmy in the First half which was enough to beat the Young Reds who fought back with 2 goals from Lalramuana and Nim Dorjee in the Second Half, in a Shillong Premier League Encounter held today at the JN Stadium Shillong.

Malki kicked off the first half brightly in the very first minute by pressing forward and earning a corner but failed to delight their supporters with an early goal.  The game was very fast as both teams were eager to gain control of the match with the first goal.

Malki opened their account in the 21^st minute after a lapse in the Lajong defence. Lajong were having more possession of the ball and eager to equalise but didn’t have good scoring opportunities. However, Malki scored again with some good and creative goals in the 32^nd and 39^th minute.

Malki seemed to be in control of the game as their defence were resolute against the Lajong forwards who were displaying good skills all around the field but not doing enough to hurt the defensive line. Lajong’s persistence however was rewarded in the 68^th minute after Malki’s defence were caught off guard and Lalramuana scored the first goal for Lajong. The game was open as Lajong kept attacking the defence to get back in the game while Malki were looking for the counter attack. Lajong scored the second goal of the match from an easy tap in by NimDorjee in the 85^th minute, after a free kick by Samuel was not dealt with by the Malki custodian. There was a lot of pressure on both teams in the final minutes but Malki managed to hang on until the final whistle was blown.

Lajong suffered their first defeat of the tournament today but still remain on top of the league with 16 points from 7 matches and will look to bounce back in their next match against Rangdajied United FC on 6^th October.