I-LEAGUE Media Team
NEW DELHI: Gameweek 2 of the Hero I-League saw three winners and one draw out of the four games that took place in three match days. Following the end of the round, last season’s Second Division League winners Royal Wahingdoh FC lead the league standings, with six points, earned after two straight wins.
Wahingdoh, led by Santosh Kashyap, continued their flying form in the competition as they got past Goan giants Salgaocar FC at their home ground in Fatorda, after a big win in the Shillong derby in Round 1. The 1-0 win was a significant one for the Royals, considering the Greens from Goa have already been the Durand Cup Champions this season.
However, following injury to their marksman Darryl Duffy, Derrick Pereira might be finding it a bit difficult to find the right shape of the team in his absence. The Greens drew their first game of the season against Pune, and lost their second against the new-comers on Friday.
The only goal of the match was scored by Jackichand Singh, who has already made his impact felt at the competition.
Bengaluru FC faced a real eye-opener of sorts following their loss at the hands of Pune FC at Kanteerava in Bangalore. The scoreline read 3-1 in favour of the Red Lizards at the end of the game, and the reaction on the faces of the BFC fans told the story that the result was so unexpected.
PFC struck first blood in the match courtesy of their marquee player Darko Nikac. Luciano Sobrosa and Haokip made it 3-0 with just 10 minutes remaining in the game. BFC, however, got one goal back courtesy of Eugeneson Lyngdoh, but that was not enough.
PFC goalkeeper Amrinder Singh remained the Hero of the Match for his impressive display on the night.
The defending I-League Champions are currently 10th in the table, with just a point from two games, and a negative goal difference.
Debutantes Bharat FC had a grand opening to their match against Dempo at the Balewadi Stadium in Pune. A Carnival of sorts was planned before the game. However, into the game, the grand performance by the Kalyani Group-owned side could not live to its level, as the game ended in a goalless draw.
KBFC Custodian Arindam Bhattacharya however remained the Hero of the Match for making a lot of saves and earning a clean sheet in his first Hero I-League game of this season.
In Shillong, Lajong got back to winning ways following their hard defeat at the hands of Wahingdoh in a fiercely-competed Derby in Gameweek 1. A solitary goal from Boithang Haokip in the second half was enough to get the win for the Reds against Mumbai FC.
The Mumbai-based outfit are yet to earn a point in the league, and are at the rockbottom now.
The rescheduled fixture of this round is the big Kolkata Derby – Kingfisher East Bengal vs McDowell Mohun Bagan. The match will be held on February 11, 2015.
Top 3 Teams (in order of Ranking):
Royal Wahingdoh FC – 6 points
Pune FC – 4 points
McDowell Mohun Bagan – 3 points; Goal difference – 2
Top Goalscorer:
Katsumi Yusa (MMB) – 2 goals
