Shillong, June 16: The boys of Meghalaya and Mizoram both registered 1-0 victories in their respective matches on day three of the Assam Rifles CAPF Under-19 Football Talent Hunt Tournament here on Friday.
In the first match, Meghalaya and Nagaland both had opportunities in the first half, but neither could convert despite some entertaining and attacking play.
It took until the 53rd minute of the 70-minute Pool B encounter for the tournament hosts to find the breakthrough, which came about after Melvin Marbaniang received a cross from the right and lobbed the ball over the oncoming goalkeeper. The victory saw Meghalaya move into second place in the group behind Manipur, who beat the host team on Wednesday.
Rain was a feature of the match and it was more or less the same in the second fixture of the day, which saw Mizoram hold off Tripura for their victory by a solitary goal in Pool A.
The lone goal came about in the 17th minute when Vanlallawma took a running shot with his left boot that found the back of the net.
The slight lead did not provide enough safety, however, with Tripura constantly posing a threat to the Mizoram defence.
In the 20th minute a free-kick for Tripura gave them a good chance, but the ball went inches wide. Mizoram also had a good opportunity late in the first half, but Laldinpuia skied the ball high over the bar from inside the box.
With the clock ticking down in the second half, Tripura almost looked like securing at least a point when a corner kick went through the Mizoram goalkeeper’s palms, but Tripura had one attempted shot blocked and the rebound was blazed over the bar.
Three points for the win and one from the draw against Arunachal Pradesh on Wednesday means that Mizoram have qualified for the semifinal round.
Tomorrow will be an all-girls’ affair with Tripura taking on Meghalaya in Pool B at 1:00pm, followed by Arunachal and Nagaland in Pool A at 3:30pm, both at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium.
Arunachal and Tripura have to bounce back after losing their opening games on Thursday while this will be the first day of action for the Meghalaya and Nagaland girls.
