By Our Reporter
Shillong, Jan 8: Shillong Lajong and defending champions Rangdajied United will meet in the first quarterfinal of the Meghalaya State League 2024 at the Wahiajer Sports Complex on Thursday. Kick-off will be at 1pm.
The marquee event of the Meghalaya Football Association, ably supported by the Meghalaya government, returns after being paused in November for the state men’s football team to prepare for the Santosh Trophy.
This year is the first time that a quarterfinal round will be contested, a decision of the MFA to broaden the league and make the action extra competitive.
Lajong and Rangdajied, two giants of Meghalaya football, reached the quarters by winning their respective groups.
Rangdajied started slowly in Group D in Khliehriat with a goalless draw before romping to victory in their other two games to finish on top.
On the other hand, Lajong were victorious in all three of their fixtures in Wahiajer’s Group E.
The two clubs have met three times before in the MSL, starting with the final of the second edition in 2019 where Lajong took the title on penalties in Khliehriat after neither side could score in 90 minutes or extra time.
They then met in a two-leg semifinal in 2023 when Lajong won 3-0 in the first leg in Jowai before Rangdajied fired their way back by the same margin in the second leg in Mawkyrwat. The game was eventually taken to a tiebreaker, which Rangdajied won 4-3.
Rangdajied went on to lift the trophy that year but they cannot afford to think of defending their crown just yet.
These past results will probably count for little as both teams have undergone big personnel changes since.
A more recent meeting of the teams saw Lajong defeat Rangdajied 2-1 in the ongoing Shillong Premier League 2024 on October 24 but it was after this loss that RUFC upped their game and won four in a row.
Neither club was all that impressive in their most recent SPL matches, with several big names rested in each camp, perhaps with an eye towards Thursday’s all-important quarterfinal.
The two have had a longstanding rivalry outside the MSL, in Shillong Sports Association and All India Football Federation tournaments as well as last year’s Durand Cup. Their fourth meeting in the MSL will thus not just advance or end their run in this edition of the statewide league but also provide bragging rights for the victors.