I-League: Salgocar, Lajong in goalless draw

Salgoacar SC held Shillong Lajong FC to a goalless draw in their last I-League match at the J N Stadium in Shillong on Friday.

It was Shillong Lajong who dominated the game in the first half, but their forwards failed to convert as many as three easy opportunities that came their way.

India striker Sushil Kumar was not in his best and failed to take control of the ball and fumbled a number of times.

In the second half, Salgaogar had a chance to take the lead but Chidih Edeh's penalty kick in the 34th minute went over the bar.

Lajong's coach P Reddy said he is happy with the draw as it only showed that the team had improved from the past five encounters during which they lost both at home and away.

The Reds achieved their primary target of not getting "relegated", the coach added.

However, the secondary target set by the team to reach the first half of the I-League table did not materialise.

Salgaocar's coach Karim Bencherifa also expressed satisfaction with the result.

"It was a 50-50 match, an average game. Both teams played fair and good football," Karim said, admitting that it was not a high-intensity game as expected by the crowd.