By Joseph Solomon,
AIFF Media Team
NEW DELHI: Meghalaya edged past Delhi 1-0 in a Group A encounter of the ongoing 37th Sub-Junior National Football Championship at the Ambedkar Stadium in the Capital on April 14, 2016.
In a cagey fixture, Meghalaya dominated the opening minutes of the match but Delhi dug their roots in the latter stage and gave Meghalaya a run for their money. However, it was Meghalaya who initiated the first attack of the day, as in the 3rd minute, Kharthang burst clear onto goal but failed to test the Delhi custodian.
Two minutes later, Delhi initiated a counter attack which almost earned dividends, had Manav Sharma been able to beat the Manipuri custodian in a one versus one scenario.
In the 8th minute, Meghalaya took the lead when Lalmanbha Kharthang evaded his marking defender and thumped the ball home to make the score-line read 1-0. In the 10th minute, a rocket-of-a-shot by Meghalaya’s Captain Kitborklang Khyriem from more than 25 yards out rattled the inside of the Delhi bar and went back into play.
Delhi started to control the tempo of the game in the latter stages of the first half, but were unable to find their way around Meghalaya’s defence, as the half-time scoreline read 1-0 in Meghalaya’s favour.
Changing over and both sides decided to play safe, although Delhi, in need of an equalizer, attacked more often than Meghalaya. In the 60th minute, Delhi had an opportunity to equalize their deficit but Joel Beckham’s shot lacked the necessary venom to test the opponent’s custodian, as the opportunity went abegging.
Although Delhi dominated possession, they were unable to foster clear goal scoring opportunities and at the end of time the scoreline read 1-0 in Meghalaya's favour.
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