Shillong, May 20: Nongkseh SSCC and Shillong Lajong FC shared the spoils in a pulsating 1-1 draw in their Group A quarterfinal stage clash of the 5th Meghalaya State League at the SSA Stadium on Wednesday evening.
Despite facing each other just two days earlier — when Nongkseh emerged 2-0 winners — the latest encounter produced another fiercely contested battle, with fans from both sides turning up in large numbers to create an electric atmosphere.
Nongkseh once again relied on their strength from set-pieces to take the lead. Mebankhraw Wahlang opened the scoring in the 33rd minute after meeting a corner kick delivered by Hardy Cliff Nongbri.
Shillong Lajong responded strongly and found the equaliser only four minutes later. Fridison Wanniang finished neatly through the legs of Nongkseh goalkeeper Guidle Syiemlieh following a slick one-two passing move with his teammates in the 37th minute.
Though the match ended level, both teams have now produced two thrilling encounters in quick succession that carried the intensity and quality of a final.
In the other Group A fixture, defending champions Mawlai SC produced their finest performance of the quarterfinal stage with a commanding 4-0 victory over Rangdajied United FC.
The defeat marked Rangdajied’s fourth consecutive loss and officially ended their hopes of qualifying for the semifinals, despite still having two matches remaining.
Mawlai’s goals came through Basuklang Bina (14’, 39’), Fairming Suting (66’) and Samlang Rympei in stoppage time (90+4’).
Basuklang continued his rich vein of form, taking his tally to six goals in the tournament to become Mawlai’s top scorer this season. He struck early to hand his side the lead before heading home a Robertson Khongriah free-kick to complete his brace.
Rangdajied had shown signs of improvement in their narrow 2-1 defeat to Mawlai in the previous meeting, but struggled to maintain consistency this time around, with poor touches affecting their attacking rhythm. Nevertheless, they continued to push forward until the final whistle. A defensive lapse allowed Fairming to extend Mawlai’s lead in the second half before Samlang added the fourth goal with the final kick of the match.
Following Wednesday’s results, Nongkseh remain top of the standings with eight points. Shillong Lajong and Mawlai are tied on seven points each, but Lajong occupy second place courtesy of a superior head-to-head record. Rangdajied remain without a point.
Group B action will resume on Thursday with Rymbai Shkenshynriah SC taking on Maram FC at 2pm after Shkenshynriah secured a 4-2 victory in the first leg. Later in the evening, Langsning FC will face Nangkiew Irat SC at 6pm, with Nangkiew looking to bounce back after suffering a heavy 6-1 defeat in their previous encounter.
