Shillong (Meghalaya), May 23: Meghalaya’s unbeaten march is over. Kerala rallied from a goal down to beat Jeffrey Warlarpih’s side 2-1 in the Swami Vivekananda U-20 Men’s National Football Championship quarterfinal on Friday morning in Narainpur, Chhattisgarh.
It started with a moment of magic. A rapid counter in the 17th minute sent Mebanlamlynti Masharing sprinting clear. Kerala’s keeper dashed out of his box, but a mix-up with his defender left the ball loose. Mebanlamlynti seized it and unleashed an audacious long-range bicycle kick to put Meghalaya 1-0 up. That was his seventh goal of the tournament.
The joy was short-lived. In the 26th minute, a back pass to keeper Jovialstar L Lyngkhoi bobbled on the rough pitch. Sheril Thomas pressed hard, stole possession, and tapped in the equalizer.
Kerala grabbed the lead a minute before halftime. A failed Meghalaya clearance dropped to Calwin Thomas, who struck cleanly in the 44th minute. The 2-1 scoreline held till the whistle.
The defeat ends Meghalaya’s hopes of repeating last year’s 2-1 group-stage win over Kerala in the same competition. Warlarpih’s boys had stormed through Group A with a perfect 12 points, beating Bihar 3-1 on May 9, Jharkhand 5-0 on May 11, Andhra Pradesh 8-1 on May 13, and Rajasthan 3-0 on May 17.
After nearly three weeks in Chhattisgarh’s heat, the young squad exits with heads high: four dominant wins, a tournament standout in Mebanlamlynti, and a quarterfinal finish.
