Matchday 3 continued with bottom placed Indian Arrows taking on Shillong Lajong FC at the Barabati Stadium in Cuttack, the new home ground for the Indian Arrows. It was an interesting matchup as Arrows and Shillong are the only two clubs with an all Indian representation in the league.
Indian Arrows, who have only played on Matchday 1, were looking for their first points this season after a thumping 4-1 defeat to Chennai City FC in their opening match.
Shillong Lajong FC sat at fourth in the table after a 2-1 win against 2017 champions Aizawl FC on Matchday 1 before suffering a 1-3 loss to this year's favourites East Bengal FC.
Indian Arrows vs Shillong Lajong FC
Indian Arrows (4-4-2)
After going to down 4-1 to Chennai in the previous game, Floyd Pinto made a number of changes and fielded a 4-4-2 formation. Gurkirat Singh, Jitendra Singh, Stalin, Thanaujam and Ali were dropped. Thangjam slotted in at right back while Ashish Rai played as left back. Aimol, Wangjam and Lalengmawia were brought in as there were a number of changes in the midfield. Jhadav partnered Praveen as the two men up front.
Shillong Lajong FC (4-4-2)
No changes to the line-up that started against East Bengal last week.The intentions of both teams were made clear early in the match as Lajong were happy to dominate possession and play through the middle while Arrows were happy to attack on the break.
The home side drew blood in the 11th minute when left back Ashish Rai curled the ball into the top corner from outside the box beyond the reach of Chalieu.
After the goal, there were some neat moves by the away side as they tried to break the Arrows' resistance. They were unable to do so as the Arrows held onto their till half time.Shillong continued to find the equaliser as they created a number of chances but were wasteful in front of goal. Arrows held their nerves and defended deep as both teams did not trouble the scoreboard in the second half.
Finally off the mark for the season, Arrows will next take on Mohun Bagan at home on November 10 while the disappointed Shillong will travel down south to take on Gokulam Kerala on November 11.
