23rd Meghalaya Invitation Football Tournament
SHILLONG: 58 GTC outplayed 10 men Rangdajied 4-3 in the first semifinal clash to book their place in the finals of the ongoing 23rd Meghalaya Invitation Football Tournament on Wednesday. In a seven-goal thriller, the sides were leveled at 2- 2 at the end of the normal stoppage time, and it was on the extra time that GTC’s superb performance saw them snatch victory from Rangdajied’s hands. The semifinal clash witnessed two brilliant hat tricks, one from Rangdajied’s Stephan Harry and the other one from GTC’s Rajan Rana; however it was Rana’s double blow on the extra time which earned him the hat trick and also took away the game from the Blues. The Blues made the first impact courtesy Stephan Harry’s goal on the 25thminute; however 14 minutes later GTC leveled the score after Hemant Thapa’s free kick sailed past goalkeeper to disturb the nets. Four minutes later GTC’s Rajan Rana delivered another one to put his team ahead. The match witnessed an ugly event, which saw Rangdajied’s Wailadmi Passah being sent off for his aggression towards Mahendra Gurung. With a one goal deficit, it was an uphill task for the Men in Blue to challenge the well organised GTC team in the second session, as they were reduced to ten-men. However, their consistency saw them draw level the score on the 69th minute after Stephan registered a second goal to his name. After the scores being leveled once again, the match progressed with both the sides standing firm in their defense and cutting off each other’s attacking threat to end the normal time with a score line of 2-2. The match was then decided in extra time. Rangdajied took the lead first making it 3-2 on the 94th minute after Stephan Harry found the nets and thereby scored his hat trick. As the extra time moved into it second half, Rajan Rana struck twice in a span of 10 minutes to earn his hat trick and take GTC to the final. On Thursday, Shillong Lajong FC will lock horns against Oil India Duliajan, Assam in the second semifinal.
