Shillong: Mohun Bagan FC on Saturday suffered a shock defeat at the hands of hosts Shillong Lajong FC when the latter edged past them 2-0 in their opening match of the I-League here.
Boithang Hoakip, who replaced midfielder Eugeneson Lyngdoh, scored the opening goal for the hosts in the 63rd minute of the match.
A crowd of about 14,000 witnessed the match as the local outfit displayed enough discipline and skills to outsmart their fancied rivals.
What did not help Bagan's cause was that their foreign recruits -- Okolie Odafa and Tolgay Ozbey -? looked out of sorts, failing to find the net on several occasions.
On the other hand, Lajong's newly signed North Korean player, Minchol Son toed the line of main defender Wailadmi Passah as he exceptionally filled in the empty spaces at the back.
The second goal was scored by Lalramluaha Hmar who sealed the visitor's fate at the dying minutes of the game.
Bagan's coach admitted that his foreign forwards were out of form.
"We created a lot of chances in the first half but they were not able to score," Santosh Kashyap told newsmen at the post-match conference.
"Lajong is a good team which could upset big teams at any given day and their kick-and-rush football gave the visitors a hard time," he said.
Lajong's coach Desmond Bulpin said: "It was a fantastic performance of my boys and I am proud of them."
A cash award of Rs 5,000 was awarded to to the Man of the Match, Lajong's goalie L Ralte.
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