Shillong, August 21: The Shillong Lajong Academy ,India finished in 6th place in the BRICS U-12 International Youth Football Tournament after the boys displayed a commendable performance throughout in Putian, China. In total 16 teams participated in the tournament from Brazil, Russia, India, China the host and South Africa.
Shillong Lajong were placed in group B and remained undefeated in the group stage. They won their first game verus Luoyang Xiang,China by 3-1, drew 1-1 in their second game against Dongguan Machong FC , China and won by 1-0 over Fujian Outshion FC , China in the last group match and advanced to the quarterfinals.
The Lajong Junior Reds, however, lost to Green Town Yuhua Taohuayuan, China in the quarterfinals by 5-4 in the penalty shoot out on 19th August. Both teams scored one goal each in normal time.
After losing out a spot in the semifinals of the tournament, Shillong Lajong had to play the rankings round stage and on the same day they played Luch-Energia Vladivostok FC (Russia) and won this encounter by 4-3 in the penalty shoot out after both teams were tied at 3-3 in the normal time. They played their last game for rankings earlier today against Qingdao Kunpeng FC, China and lost the game by 1-0.
The Club is proud of the performance of these players who hail from different parts of Meghalaya and interestingly, were developed from the Grassroots Clinic that the Club conducts across Meghalaya every year. The Junior Reds will return home having ended the campaign in China in 6th position but most importantly, they have gained immense exposure from this International trip.
