Santosh Trophy NE Zone
SHILLONG: Meghalaya’s chances of progressing from Group B in the Santosh Trophy North East Zone received a boost on Thursday when they defeated Tripura 2-0 in Aizawl for their second consecutive win.
One team from each group will qualify for the next round, but Meghalaya will not be assured of a place until their final group game on Saturday.
Tripura fought hard against Meghalaya, rebuffing their attacks until just before half time.
Ebor Buam then sprung a surprise by getting through the back line to fire in a volley that beat the diving goalkeeper.
One of the North East’s minnows, Tripura tried to find a way back against the stronger Meghalaya outfit, but their hopes were dealt a setback when Timmy Ryngkhlem scored his second goal of the tournament to double the lead in the 67th minute, which ultimately proved to be the final goal of the match.
Meghalaya now have six points from two games, while both Railways and Assam have three each.
Tripura are in last spot with zero points.
Assam bounced back from their 4-2 loss to Meghalaya in their first game, coming through against the formidable Railways 1-0 with a goal scored by Sachin Basumatry in the dying minutes of the match.
All three of the top teams retain a chance for a place in the next round, but Assam’s hopes are somewhat slim as they have the worst goal difference of the three states (-1).
Railways have a goal difference of +6, thanks to their 7-0 thrashing of Tripura in the first fixture and will need to beat their Saturday foes. Meghalaya sit at +4 and only need a draw from that encounter to top Group B.
Manipur vs Mizoram today
Meanwhile, Friday will see two of the biggest teams from the region go head-to-head to decide the top state from Group A.
2002-03 champions Manipur have the advantage of a better goal difference, but Mizoram can still go through if they beat their arch-rivals.
Both sides won their opening games and so have six points each. Manipur’s goal difference is +11, while Mizoram’s is +8.
The other two teams – Nagaland and Arunachal Pradesh – will also play each other on Friday, but are out of contention as neither have a point to their name.