I-LEAGUE Media Team

NEW DELHI: It may be a “different ball game”, but the Hero I-League match between local rivals Shillong Lajong FC and Royal Wahingdoh FC will have a familiar ring to it for fans of the two Shillong-based clubs.

The two teams have a long rivalry in the local domestic league – Shillong Premier League – and they will take their competition to the prestigious Hero I-League when they meet in the first Shillong Derby of the season on Sunday.

The Wahingdoh outfit, technically the visitors for this fixture, are the more bullish of the two after having had a reasonable performance in the just concluded Federation Cup, where they came away with one win, one draw and two losses.

“The Federation Cup and I-League are different ball games,” RWFC coach Santosh Kashyap said at the pre-match press conference on Saturday. Kashyap has previous experience of coaching a local team as he led Rangdajied United FC for the first half of last season. “We are a new team and a more talented team than Rangdajied,” he added.

Lajong, by contrast, had an indifferent Federation Cup, losing all four of their games although they fielded a rather young team with no foreign players. They recently confirmed the re-signing of Cornell Glen, Uilliams Souza and Minchol Son and a new recruit in Penn Orji.

“It’s a new season and a new beginning. Naturally we want to do better than the previous year but we have to be very realistic,” coach Thangboi Singto said. “We are very hopeful for our young team but we can’t expect too much from them at least in the first few matches,” he added.

There is also a chance that Lajong will go into the match with an all-Indian line-up as the foreigners have just landed in town, but the final decision will be made on the big day.

Singto was accompanied by new team captain Aiborlang Khongjee, who was a regular feature in the ISL team NorthEast United FC and a former Mohun Bagan defender. Khongjee, who has had a previous stint at the Reds, said he is very happy to be back at his old club and is looking forward to bagging all three points.

It is to be noted that Lajong has the youngest squad in all of the Hero I-League this season, with up to 16 U-23 players in the squad.

KO: December 18 @ 4:30 pm IST (TV Broadcaster: Ten Action
Social Media Hashtag: #SLFCvRWFC, #ShillongDerby

Feature on Shillong Derby: http://i-league.org/shillong-derby-a-tale-of-2-teams-and-1-city/