Shillong, November 6: Fresh from their third Shillong Premier League title, Langsning will meet Rangdajied United in the first semifinal of the SSA Super Cup on Friday at the SSA Stadium at First Ground, Polo, here. Kick-off will be at 5pm.
The new SSA Super Cup, organised by the Shillong Sports Association, adds another level of competition and excitement for fans of the game, with the Top 6 from the Shillong Premier League 2025 battling it out in knockout tournament.
Langsning, as SPL 2025 champions, and runners-up Shillong Lajong were given direct spots in the semifinals, while Rangdajied and Mawlai had to come through playoffs to reach the last-four.
Rangdajied destroyed Nangkiew Irat 3-0 in the first playoff on 31 October before Mawlai sneaked past Sawmer 5-4 on penalties the next day in a thriller that was deadlocked 3-3 after extra time.
Langsning demolished Rangdajied 4-0 when they met in the SPL on 23 August. RUFC, however, started their campaign slowly, with just one win in the first six games. Things picked up after that and Rangdajied finished the season in fifth place thanks to two more victories. They then sailed past Nangkiew Irat quite comfortably in the first Super Cup playoff, though two goals were the result of penalty kicks.
Langsning, meanwhile, have not been seen in action for some time now. They were the first side to finish their SPL 2025 campaign – they played their last match on 14 October, with the league only ending six days later. In that time they had to wait, watch and pray for Lajong and Mawlai results to go their way and events panned out exactly as Langsning needed, as they finished with 20 points to Lajong and Mawlai’s 19 each.
Although they had gone under the radar for most of the SPL 2025, Langsning quietly produced a string of strong results to finish the season on top. They won four games in a row and were only defeated once in nine outings. On paper they will start the favourites tomorrow.
On Saturday Lajong and Mawlai will face off in the second semifinal, also at 5pm. Lajong were undefeated in SPL 2025 but won only five times, with four draws costing them the title. One of their fantastic wins came against Mawlai on 1 October. In that match Mawlai were leading 3-0 only for Lajong to dramatically swing things around to take the match 4-3 in sensational style.
That result was a pivotal moment for Mawlai and demonstrated that, though strong, they were not the same team that won back-to-back SPL crowns in 2022 and 2023 as well as the Meghalaya State League title in 2024. Even with that defeat Mawlai were still in the hunt for the trophy this year but a season-ending draw against Rangdajied ended that hope and handed Langsning the championship.
Mawlai were less than impressive against Sawmer, who gave their mighty opponents a real fight across 120 minutes of action, with only a single penalty separating them at the end. Lajong will have noticed this and planned accordingly. The Reds are seeking to put the disappointment of not defending their SPL title behind them and bagging some fresh silverware.
Although there was a real chance for an upset along the way, Shillong’s Big Four clubs have made it to the semifinals and this is where the business end of the SSA Super Cup really begins!
