Sports Shorts: NorthEast United beat Delhi Dynamos; Atwal leads

NorthEast United pumped in two quick first half goals in the space of five minutes to beat Delhi Dynamos 2-0 and notch up their first win of the season in the Indian Super League football in New Delhi, on Saturday.

Brazilians Marcio Junior and Danilo Lopes Cezario scored in the 17th and 22nd minutes to give NorthEast their first full three points after a draw and a loss in their first two matches of the season. They now have four points from three matches.

The Dynamos had a much better possession in the match but failed to convert the few chances that came their way in their first home match of the season as a sparse crowd made some noises on a chilly December night. They felt the absence of their Uruguayan attacking midfielder Matías Mirabaje who did not take the field today due to injury.

This was Dynamos' second consecutive loss after their 1-4 thrashing by Bengaluru FC on November 26. They now have just three points from three matches.

NorthEast, on the other hand, were able to convert the few chances they had while they took advantage of a goalkeeping howler by Albino Gomes to score the second goal.

They had drawn their first match against Jamshedpur FC 0-0 at home before losing to Chennaiyin FC 0- in Chennai in their second match.

De Jager, Atwal lead Mauritius Open

South Africa’s Louis de Jager joined overnight leader Arjun Atwal of India at the top of the leaderboard after the Mauritius Open third round on Saturday and the pair will take a one-shot lead into Sunday’s final round of the European Tour event in Domaine del Bel Ombre.

The 30-year-old De Jager, seeking a first European Tour success, hit four birdies in a blemish-free 67 to join Atwal on 13 under par after 54 holes.

The Indian had carded a course-record 62 in Thursday’s first round not long after completing a 16-hour journey to Mauritius and shot 68 in the third round.

Dylan Frittelli of South Africa and Miguel Tabuena from the Philippines were a stroke back in third place.

South Africa's former British Open champion Louis Oosthuizen was in a group of 16 players within five strokes of the leaders.

Lajong Continues Their Winning Run Against Churchill Bros.

Redeem Tlang (28') and Samuel J Lyngdoh Kynshi (72') struck in either half of the match to give Lajong a 2-0 victory over Churchill Brothers in their second Hero I-League home fixture this season.

Lajong leapfrog Minerva Punjab FC to grab the pole position having bagged all possible 6 points from 2 matches.

Both teams started playing offensive football in the first half of the match attempting to score but the match took a rough turn for Churchill Brothers in the 28th minute when Redeem Talang of Lajong struck the target.

After the first goal, Lajong felt more comfortable with their situation in the game while Churchill tried their best to come back but were not able to do so.

There was one yellow card for Lajong in the first half being shown to Daniel Odafin. The second yellow card was shown to Karthik Govindswamy of Churchill Brothers.

On resumption, Churchill Brothers shited the gear in their pursuit of the elusive equaliser. Compared to the first half, the second half was more energetic and competitive. As contrary to the first half, Lajong were defensive in the first few minutes of the second half, preferred to secure their lead safely.

In the second half, Samuel J Lyngdoh Kynshi,came off the bench into the game, replacing Abdoulaye Koffi to score the second goal for Lajong in the 72nd minute, thus giving them the upper hand over Churchill Brothers and killing off any hope of coming back into the match.