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Dr T Ao Football: Meghalaya beat Assam 3-0, in semis

Hosts Meghalaya reached the semifinals of the Dr T Ao Memorial football tournament in Shillong on Friday with a 3-0 win against Assam. In another game, Arunachal Pradesh beat Nagaland 2-1. Nyamar and Tadar scored for Arunachal while Lipok Sasahi netted for Nagaland.

Group A leaders Meghalaya started the match positively. Greeting Wahlang put the home team ahead in the 12th minute by heading the ball into the net off a corner. It was fairly easy for him as he was not blocked by any Assam defender.

The home team doubled the lead in the 40th minute. It was a lucky goal. Close to the far line, Gatphoh squeezed out a fine angled shot, which the Assam goalie seemed to have covered, but the ball came off his body and sneaked over the goal line.

Just on 45 minutes, Gatphoh sent the crowd into a tizzy with a cheeky attempt on goal, as he approached the post from the left side. He wanted to pass it to another Meghalayan player but couldn’t find one, so he chipped it but it only found the side netting.

Assam got the game going in the second half with a strong shot on goal that just went wide of the post seconds after the restart. The second half was relatively quiet, but Brolington Warlarpih shot over the crossbar in the 55th minute. And in the 70th minute, Teiborlang Siangshai was set up for a strike on goal from eight yards outside the Assam box, but the ball sailed over the crossbar.