SHILLONG: Lawmali SC and Assam Rifles will clash for the much-coveted champions’ trophy of the 4th Assam Rifles Invitational Football Tournament at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium here at 3:45 pm on Saturday.
Lawmali managed to stop defending champions, Smit, from entering the final.
Sixteen teams began the knockout tournament with the top two set to battle it out for the 2019 title.
Governor Tathagata Roy will be the chief guest on the occasion of the final, which will also be graced by the presence of the patron of the tournament, Director General of Assam Rifles Lt Gen Sukhdeep Sangwan.
This season Lawmali have scored 10 goals while only conceding three. On the other hand, Assam Rifles have scored 20 goals while also conceding three.
Lawmali have a young squad, but many of their players are regular members of top local clubs. Damehun Syih, Will Marbaniang and Shanbor Jyrwa will be key players. The jawans will rely on Lalboi Kipjen to get them a few goals tomorrow. He has already scored eight goals in three games, including two hat-tricks. Jefferson Nongrud, who previously played his club football for Nangkiew Irat, and H Haokip will also be danger players for Assam Rifles.
The action on the pitch is sure to be of high quality and, besides the football, there will also be a mass band display, which has become an impressive and eagerly awaited part of the show over the years.
