Shillong, December 3: Mawkasiang and Mawkriah West did what they had to do to maintain their hopes of qualifying for the SSA Champions Cup 2025 semifinals by winning their respective matches at the SSA Stadium at First Ground, Polo, here today.
Mawkasiang held off Umlyngka for a 2-1 win in Group A, while Mawkriah West came from a goal down to beat Mawlynrei 4-3 in Group B.
Samlang Rympei (43’) and Lamshai Jana (67’) scored for Mawkasiang in the first fixture while Umlyngka’s Babitlang Wahlang (52’P) converted a penalty. This was Mawkasiang’s first win but, with a point from their opening fixture, they now have 4 and still have to meet Langsning (7). A win for Mawkasiang then would put them through to the semis on head-to-head.
The evening kick-off was an absolute goal fest, with Enestar Malngiang (29’P, 40’, 51’) scoring a hat-trick and Calbessius Pathaw (38’) one goal for Mawkriah West. Ferdinand Pyngrope (17’) and Alem Khongwir (67’, 79’) scored for Mawlynrei. This was also Mawkriah’s first victory and they have 3 points. Their fate is no longer in their hands, however, as if Nongkseh (6) even get a point tomorrow against Shillong Lajong (9) they will qualify for the knockouts. However, a defeat would take the fight for the semifinals to Saturday when Nongkseh are to face Mawkriah. What makes it even more interesting is that Laitkyrhong (3) could also end up with 6 points if they beat Mawlynrei in their last outing on Friday.
Putting all this conjecture aside, today saw some fascinating and competitive footballing action. Umlyngka were playing their last match and were hopeful of ending their campaign on a high note. Rodonald Kharbuki missed an open goal in the 18th minute but Mawkasiang dominated the rest of the first half, with Umlyngka custodian Babitlang Wahlang forced into making two sharp saves. However, Samlang headed in a corner to give Mawkasiang the lead before half time, though his team would lose it early in the second half.
A foul in the box led to a penalty and Babitlang came up from his post to take the spot kick, a rare example of a goalkeeper taking a penalty outside of a tiebreaker. He converted it simply enough to level the scores but Mawkasiang would retake the lead 15 minutes later when Lamshai was able to squeeze off a shot on the run despite being marked by two defenders.
With this win Mawkasiang took third place away from Umlyngka and the latter finished with one win and three defeats.
Later, Ferdinand opened Mawlynrei’s account in the 17th minute after the talented youngster displayed some neat passing with team mate Damangkyrpang Kharbudon. As a result of this move Ferdinand pushed through into the box to score his team’s first goal in three matches.
Mawlynrei could not maintain that positive momentum, however, and Mawkriah hit back. Enestar first converted a penalty won after a foul in the box and added a second through a tap-in following a cross from captain Honour Lucky Nongbri. This came two minutes after Calbessius took a one touch shot that glanced the crossbar before going into the back of the net.
In the second half, Mawkriah added to Mawlynrei’s pain with Enestar scoring his hat-trick goal with a strong left-footer. Mawlynrei, though, were able to keep things interesting with a brace of goals by Alem, the first via a tap-in and the second from a mistake by goalkeeper Mark Franky Lyngdoh – the custodian had the ball covered but tried to clear it with boot rather than gather it with his gloves and the ball clipped his leg and crossed the goal line.
Seven goals proved to be the limit for the cold evening and Mawkriah were able to celebrate a hard-fought victory.
The Champions Cup action continues tomorrow when Meghalaya Police face Mylliem Lum in Group A at 1pm. MLP have already confirmed a place in the semis, while bottom side Mylliem Lum will be playing for pride in their last match.
Later, the most-anticipated clash of the tournament thus far will be held when Nongkseh face Lajong at 4:30pm. While SLFC have already booked their slot in the semis, they will not want to give any ground to Nongkseh.
