By Our Reporter
Shillong, Nov 12: Arunachal Pradesh knocked hosts Meghalaya out of the U-17 women’s football competition at the 2nd North East Olympic Games 2022 today with a commanding 3-1 victory at the MFA Turf at Polo Grounds.
The other match of the day saw the first penalty shootout required to split Sikkim and Assam, who finished 90 minutes at 1-1. Sikkim won 3-0 in the tiebreaker.
Ajuli Brahma put Assam into the lead in first half stoppage time (45’+2) but Sikkim equalised via player-of-the-match Simran Gurung (71’). Assam were unable to convert. Sikkim scored three out of four of their kicks.
Earlier, the Group 2 game saw Arunachal take the lead in only the second minute with a Kai Rumi goal. Meghalaya then missed a penalty kick and soon after Arunachal made them pay for that with a second strike, this time by Angel Tawang (22’).
Gunai Taisik put in Arunachal’s third in the 54th minute, which took the game completely away from the hosts, though they did claw a goal back at the end of the contest through Makrisha Songthiang, one of the brightest prospects for the state.
Arunachal subsequently defeated Mizoram 3-1 and the win means they top Group 2, with Mizoram other team to progress to the semi-finals.
The women’s semi-finals will be held on Monday, between Manipur and Mizoram at 11am and Arunachal versus Sikkim at 4:30 pm.
On Sunday, the U-21 men’s semis will take place, between Mizoram and Nagaland at 11am and Meghalaya and Manipur at 4:30pm.