By Our Reporter
SHILLONG: Langsning SC and Rangdajied United FC qualified for the final round of the Second Division I-League 2013, but the third club from Shillong, Royal Wahingdoh FC, failed in their quest.
Wahingdoh finished third in Group B with 16 points, behind Mohammedan Sporting (20) and Bhawanipore FC (19).
This is the first time that Langsning and Rangdajied have qualified for the final round of the Second Division, providing a great chance to see another team from the city in the top tier next season.
The top two teams to emerge from the final round will gain admission into next season’s First Division.
In last year’s tournament, Royal Wahingdoh had qualified, but the team failed to progress to the top tier of the I-League.
Langsning and Rangdajied (then known as Ar Hima) finished third in their respective groups last year.
This year, Langsning qualified after topping the points tally in Group A with their 3-1 win against George Telegraph in their last match of the round robin stage on Monday.
The winning goals were scored by Joel Yinka Sunday Ayeni, who scored twice, and Marlangki Suting, who scored the third goal.
The consolation goal for George Telegraph was scored by Bibekananda.
Meanwhile, Rangdajied, who are also in Group A along with Langsning, booked their place in the final round after winning their last round robin match against Samaleshwari SC by two goals to nil.
Rangdajied tipped DSK Shivajians in the race to the final round after claiming second position in the standings, finishing with 18 points.
DSK Shivajians, who are led by former Shillong Lajong FC coach Pradhyum Reddy, managed to garner only 17 points, one behind Rangdajied United.
Meanwhile, Royal Wahingdoh were ousted from the league after Mohameddan Sporting were held to a goalless draw by Bhawanipore FC in their crucial encounter in Group B on Monday.
RWFC’s only hope to qualify for the next round rested on Mohammedan Sporting defeating Bhawanipore, but that was not to be.
In fact, in the later match, the Royals were held to a goalless draw by Josco FC.
While Wahingdoh remain in third place in Group B with 16 points, both Mohammedan Sporting and Bhawanipore, who claimed first and second spots in the points tally with 20 and 18 points respectively, made it to the final round from the group.
Meanwhile, Mumbai Tigers (16 points) and Southern Samity (14 points) are leading the standings in Group C.
The matches in this group are being played in Bangalore, but the group stage has yet to conclude.
The last matches are scheduled to be held on Tuesday and Wednesday.
However, the only North-East team, Luangmual, in the group are already out of the running for a place in the next round, having secured just four points in six matches.
Among other teams from the region, Aizawl FC finished fifth in Group B, while Green Valley, of Assam, came eighth (out of nine teams).
Kohima Komets finished bottom of Group A, with just one win in eight games.
The next leg of the 2nd Division is expected to be held in Bangalore shortly.