U-18 I-League: Royals maintain winning spree

SHILLONG: Royal Wahingdoh FC continued their winning run in the U-18 I-League beating SAI Guwahati 3-2 in a Shillong-Guwahati zone match at the MFA Ground here on Tuesday.
Seiminmang Manchong struck twice, while captain Narayan Chettri added one more to the tally as RWFC rose to 19 points in the standings following Tuesday’s win. SAI Guwahati, meanwhile, struck a goal in either half to put up a challenge.
The  Royals, who have already qualified for the final round, rested a couple of their boys for the tie against the Guwahati opponents. The match was firmly in control of the hosts who netted two goals within the first 15 minutes to virtually take the game away from the Guwahati side.
Manchong stepped in to send home a curling shot for his first goal in the 11th minute and followed it up a scorcher from outside the box that sailed into the nets to make it 2-0 for his side.
SAI were awarded a penalty in the 43rd minute after a player was brought down inside the box. Skipper Chittaranjan Meitei’s shot from the spot was blocked by Nimdup Lepcha but the former scored of the rebound.
Crossing over, RWFC dismissed any chances of a SAI comeback when Narayan Chettri netted one from close range to make 3-1. Later Meitei, taking advantage of a defensive error, scored his brace as the match ended 3-2.