Dear colleagues,
Please find below the match report of Shillong Lajong’s clash against Mohun Bagan in the semi-finals of the Hero Federation Cup and the preview report of Sporting Goa’s clash against Aizawl FC tomorrow. Also find attached the contacts of the Liaison Officers for the participating Teams (for Media queries and Interactions) in the AIFF Youth Cup and the Match schedule. Also find attached two picture: A. Aizawl FC's Joel Sundy vies for the ball in the first leg of the clash against Sporting Goa. B. Mohun Bagan held to a goalless stalemate in their second leg of the Hero Fed Cup semi-final tie. *The dropbox link for exclusive pictures from Shillong Lajong’s match against Mohun Bagan can be found below:* *https://www.dropbox.com/sh/9n2o258brqd63xe/AAADic4hPKv6RCtLaC17AvnEa?dl=0* <https://www.dropbox.com/sh/9n2o258brqd63xe/AAADic4hPKv6RCtLaC17AvnEa?dl=0> *The copyright of the above mentioned picture lies with AIFF. Please credit AIFF Media for the pictures used.* *For all updates of the National Team and exclusive pictures please follow our Official Twitter Handle @AIFFMedia at **https://twitter.com/AiffMedia* <https://twitter.com/AiffMedia> *Also follow and like the Official Page of Indian Football Teams on Facebook at **https://www.facebook.com/TheIndianFootballTeam* <https://www.facebook.com/TheIndianFootballTeam> Regards, AIFF Media Team ------------ *MOHUN BAGAN PROGRESS INTO THE FINALS OF HERO FED CUP* *AIFF Media Team* *SHILLONG:* Mohun Bagan played it safe to secure a goalless draw against hosts Shillong Lajong FC in the second leg of their Hero Federation Cup Semi Final at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in Shillong, Meghalaya to sail to the final of the Federation Cup on Saturday. The scores remained leveled at 0-0 at full time and Bagan, who had won the first leg semi final by a thumping margin of 5-0, made the cut to the grand finale with ease. The Mariners made no effort to be adventurous and rightly so. They held tight to their fortress to deny every single assault from the Reds who seemed destined not to score any today. Bagan will now take on the winner of the Aizawl-Sporting Clube de Goa tie in the final of the coveted tourney. With just one step away from glory, the Mariners are certain to give it all in the final. Meanwhile, down 0-5 on aggregate, hosts Lajong had a herculean task ahead of them and the burden perhaps was too much to handle for the young side. Despite numerous efforts, goals eluded the Northeasterners who, however, cannot be termed guilty of not trying enough today. In fact, for Lajong it was a day of missed chances and Fabio Pena’s miss hit from close range in the second half bore testimony to that. Earlier, the hosts started on a positive note showing all intent to make things move in their favour. Their first real chance came as early as the 6 th minute with Chinglensana Khonsham hitting one over the bar following a Bipin Singh corner kick. Despite the wasted effort, Lajong continued to press hard for the breakthrough while Bagan seemed happy dong the defending job. Another decent chance came Lajong’s way in the 23rd minute following yet another corner. This time Chinglensana Khonsham headed it just over the woodwork. Five minutes later, a fine shot by Samuel Lalmuanpuia took a slight deflection as rival custodian Debjit Mazumdar stretched himself to push it out. Changing over, two corners within five minutes failed to change Lajong’s fortunes. Three minutes after the hour mark Nim Tamang wasted another opportunity for his side as he lofted a shot wide of the nets with Mazumdar, who had failed to collect the ball, being out of position. In the 66th minute, an unmarked Robin Gurung charged into the box but his effort went haywire. Lajong’s best chance to stir the scoreboard came in the 71st minute when Fabio Pena missed a sitter from inside the box with his shot hitting the bar on the right. This so to say summed up Lajong’s fate. Bagan almost scored in the stoppage time but the Jeje Lalpekhlua shot missed the top of the crossbar by a whisker. At the end of time, it was 0-0 with the Mariners progressing on a 5-0 aggregate. *---* *SPORTING GOA GEAR UP FOR AIZAWL FC CHALLENGE IN HERO FED CUP SEMIS* *AIFF Media Team* *VASCO (GOA):* Sporting Goa will clash swords against Aizawl FC in the second leg of their Hero Federation Cup semi-final clash at the Fatorda Stadium in Goa on May 15, 2016. The kick-off for which is at IST 7PM. After the first leg of the tie between Sporting Goa and Aizawl FC ended in a goalless stalemate, Sporting Goa would be looking to bank on home advantage and defeat their opponents come tomorrow. However, speaking at the Official Pre-Match Press Conference, Head Coach of the Flaming Oranjes’ Mateus Costa stated that the fixture will be a tough test of credentials. “It is always difficult to play Aizawl FC as they are a compact side, who can upset anybody on their day” “The equations are simple, we have to win tomorrow to go through to the Finals, and that is how we are looking at it. The boys are confident and there is a lot of positivity in the camp.” “Tomorrow’s match is not going to be easy, but we believe in ourselves and will give our best to go into the finals”, Sporting Goa’s skipper Loveday Enyinnaya said. Assessing the performance of his side in the goalless first leg, Costa said, “Overall it was a fantastic defensive performance from our boys. I agree we lacked the creativity upfront but at the back we were solid and hence we kept a clean sheet away from home.” “If we look at Aizawl’s performance against most teams at home, they have scored plenty of goals, in a way the clean sheet is a positive result for us”, Costa added. Meanwhile Aizawl FC’s Head Coach Jahar Das rued the lack of clinical finishing infront of goal that resulted in the North East Club failing to take advantage in the first leg. “We failed to take advantage at home it is as simple as that. We played good Football in the second half and should have scored goals, but complacency cost us the match” “At Fatorda, Sporting Goa has a slight advantage because of the natural turf. Our boys usually practice on artificial turf which makes it difficult to read the ball at times”, Das informed. Sporting Goa will lack the services of their box to box midfielder Rowlin Borges, which means in all probability Denson Devidas will partner Pratesh in the midfield. The Flaming Oranje will be hoping to sign off their season in Goa with a goal feast and give their fans one more match to look out for on May 21, 2016 in the Hero Fed Cup Finals. Media Department, AIFF. Alternate: [email protected] Website: www.the-aiff.com
