SHILLONG: A brace from Timmy Ryngkhlem and one goal apiece by Ailad Kynta and Samson Nongrum was enough for Meghalaya to win 4-2 against Assam in their first match of the Santosh Trophy North East Zone in Aizawl on Tuesday.
The Santosh Trophy, an inter-state tournament, has been divided into five zones this year, with the NE zone divided into two groups of four teams each.
Ailad opened the scoring in the third minute for Meghalaya, before Assam struck two goals (21st and 29th minutes) to take the lead.
Four minutes later, Timmy scored his first to level the scores and then added another in the early part of the second half (46th).
Samson then put enough space between the teams with his 82nd minute strike.
The other two sides in Group B – Tripura and Railways – were also in action on Tuesday, with Railways hammering their opponents 7-0.
Group A in the Zone features arguably the two strongest states in the region – Manipur and Mizoram. However, only a single team from each group will go through to the final leg in Siliguri, meaning one of the giants will miss out.
The other two outfits in Group A are minnows Nagaland and Arunachal Pradesh.
On Monday, Mizoram beat Nagaland 3-0, while Manipur defeated Arunachal 3-1.
The teams will be back in action on Wednesday, with Nagaland facing Manipur and Mizoram playing Arunachal.