Shillong: Meghalaya bounced back from two goals down to snatch a 2-2 draw in their girls’ Pool B game against Tripura on the fourth day of the Assam Rifles CAPF Under-19 Football Talent Hunt Tournament at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium here on Saturday.
The other match of the day saw Nagaland’s girls whitewash Arunachal Pradesh 4-0 in Pool A.
Heavy rainfall did not stop Tripura’s Hena Debbarma and Anita Tancotla putting their side into a commanding position with goals in the 8th and 24th minutes respectively.
Tripura looked to continue their momentum in the second half, but after weathering some early attacking play, the rest of the match belonged to Meghalaya, who scored through their striker Pynhun Shulet.
An injury to her leg meant that Shulet did not look completely comfortable on the pitch, but the No. 7 soldiered on and delivered Meghalaya’s first goal in the 38th minute.
With the ball chipped into the box, Shulet managed to get through a phalanx of defenders and nudged the ball towards goal before the goalkeeper could get to it.
Her second saw her beat her markers before smashing the ball past the diving keeper.
The rain had cleared by the second match, where Nagaland rode on the back of a brace by Neichutuo-u 7th, 8th minutes, H Shangki Konyak 33rd and Mhasikhonuo Paunuo 52nd.
Arunachal did show tremendous fight even with the scoreline against them, but could not convert their chances. With two losses in as many games, Arunachal are out of the competition.
The action will return on Monday when Tripura boys take on Arunachal at 1:00pm in Pool A, followed by Manipur boys against Nagaland at 3:30pm in Pool B.
