Set semis date with Punjab in Santosh Trophy semis
It was sheer jubilation that engulfed the Meghalaya dressing room in a video posted by All India Football Federation (AIFF) on its twitter handle. The players knew that they had achieved a feat for the northeastern state on Monday by taking the side to their first Santosh Trophy knockouts with a 2-1 win over Bengal and booking a berth against Punjab in the semifinal fixture at King Fahd Stadium in Riyadh.
Group toppers Services, who beat Railways 4-0 in the other Group B match on the day, will take on Karnataka in the other semifinal.
The celebrations, however, began on the pitch as the referee blew the final whistle to a long second half that did not add to the first-half scoreline but an injury to Bengal goalkeeper Shubham Roy lengthened the wait for Meghalaya's joy at OFA 7th Battalion Ground in Bhubaneswar.
It was a come-from-behind win for Meghalaya, who had already defeated Manipur and Delhi in their previous Group B encounters, with Allen Lyngdoh (44') and Nikelson Bina (45'+3') yielding them the lead after Bengal broke the deadlock early on with a Sougata Hansda (36') opener.
With a changed format that saw each team in the two-group league stage play five games each, the Meghalaya side showed the improvement in a team that had scripted a memorable 2-2 draw against hosts Kerala in the last edition.
With the locally much-revered head coach Khlain Syiemlieh at the helm assisted by former India international Aiborlang Khongjee, the northeast came with a plan in their bid to better their best performance on the national stage — a bronze medal finish at 2007 National Games.
"There is a good mix of boys who have experience playing not just Santosh Trophy but also for clubs outside the state,' said Syiemlieh. "They have a lot of hunger and desire and I'm very happy for them. They deserve it.'
Khongjee, who was also part of Meghalaya's bronze-place finish, had more context to the team's achievement. "In my time as a player we only qualified for Santosh Trophy once,' said Khongjee. "And the bronze in the Nationals, while a big thing, wasn't as big as this. This is Santosh Trophy after all.'
They will now hope to keep up their history-making journey and find a place in the summit clash.
