I-League Media Team

SHILLONG: Despite being in seventh place in the Hero I-League standings, Dempo coach Trevor Morgan still feels that his club are not safe from relegation and that makes their match against Shillong Lajong FC here on Saturday all the more important.

After 15 games, Dempo have 16 points from three wins and seven draws, which has put them in a better place than Lajong, who are in ninth spot with 13 points (three wins and four draws). The Saturday hosts, however, do have a game in hand and they will want their home advantage to count for something and get over the 3-1 loss they were handed by Salgaocar in the last outing.

Incidentally, Dempo also tasted defeat by the same margin in their last game, losing to East Bengal in Kolkata.

The two clubs have met once already this season, with the Reds winning 2-0 in Goa and Lajong also have a better head-to-head record overall, with three wins for SLFC to one for Dempo in five meetings. In fact, the Shillong team have won all of the last three encounters between the two teams.

The Goan side have been unable to field their full strength of four foreigners in any match, with injuries a problem for Tolgay Ozbey a big concern, though the star striker is in the process of recovery even if he cannot play a full 90 minutes.

Lajong coach Thangboi Singto has his own injury concerns, with captain Aiborlang Khongjee and Robin Gurung both missing out in the last game as they will in this one. That means that it will be up to the likes of Pritam Singh and Samuel Shadap to fill in once again.

Up front, Lajong looks strong, with the likes of Cornell Glen (the second highest scorer this season with nine goals), Uilliams Souza, Boithang Haokip and Penn Orji all in reasonable form. However, despite the number of chances they have created, the team have not scored as many goals as Singto would have liked.

Both coaches rued the early goals that their respective clubs conceded in their previous matches, which set them back mentally. Another similarity between the two is that both also think that their teams have not done too badly, even if they have often ended up on the losing side.

Conditions in Shillong are likely to be overcast and chilly, with the Pine City witnessing intense rainfall over the past week. That could bring about its own challenges for the visitors, although they have pretty good memories of playing in Shillong, having drawn 1-1 against Royal Wahingdoh FC in February.

Kick-off: 02-05-2015@ 4:30 PM
Hashtag: #SLFCvDEM