Shillong, August 24: Meghalaya Police fought back from behind twice before securing a thrilling 4-2 victory over Sawmer in the Shillong Premier League 2026 at the SSA Stadium here on Monday.
Sawmer made a flying start through Diego Khyriem, who opened the scoring in the second minute on his return after missing the team’s first two matches. Meghalaya Police quickly responded, with Pynshaidor Nongrang equalising in the fifth minute.
Sawmer regained the lead in the 11th minute through Banteilang Lyngdoh, who converted his second opportunity after initially missing a one-on-one against MLP goalkeeper Eveningstar Bareh.
The advantage lasted only four minutes. Rapborlang Marwein restored parity for Meghalaya Police in the 15th minute with a superb long-range effort that went in off the post.
The frantic opening 15 minutes then gave way to a more settled contest. Sawmer thought they had taken the lead again in the 36th minute when Banteilang found the net, but the goal was ruled out for offside.
Meghalaya Police took control after the break. Pynshaidor saw an effort come back off the crossbar before Sawmer goalkeeper Pyrshangbanbha Dkhar gathered the rebound. Pyrshang also produced a good save to deny Rapborlang from a corner.
However, Sawmer could not prevent MLP from taking the lead from another corner. Tall defender Bikram Chettri rose highest to head the ball home in the 67th minute.
Pyrshang got his fingertips to another MLP effort in the 73rd minute, but Sawmer’s defence eventually cracked. A poor back pass created confusion, and Pynshailang L Lyngkhoi capitalised in the 84th minute to tap home MLP’s fourth and seal the victory.
Both sides entered the match on the back of 2-1 victories. Sawmer had defeated Rangdajied United on August 4, while Meghalaya Police had beaten defending champions Langsning on August 18.
MLP retained the same starting line-up from their previous victory, while Sawmer made three changes, bringing in Diego A Khyriem, Enestar Malngiang and Michaelson Kurbah.
Tomorrow, Laitkor will take on Nangkiew Irat at 3:40pm. Laitkor have three points from two matches, while Nangkiew Irat have one point and are still searching for their first win of the season.
