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Dr T Ao Football Tournament: Meghalaya rout Nagaland, Arunachal stun Assam

Hosts Meghalaya won their second consecutive match in group A of the fourth Dr T Ao memorial football tournament beating Nagaland 4-0 at the JN Stadium, here on Wednesday. In another match in the same pool, Arunachal Pradesh defeated Assam 2-0. Meghalaya are on top while Assam are second, Arunachal Pradesh third and Nagaland last.

Nagaland were the team who seemed to call the shots in the first 20 minutes, but the script changed dramatically. The home team started to lift its tempo after the half-hour mark. The attacks finally paid off in the 38th minute when Niwan O Gatphoh ran the ball up the right flank, dodged past a defender and carefully passed it to Milton Kharsati, who tapped in.

In the very next minute, Meghalaya doubled the score after Ronnie Nongbri chipped the ball for a waiting Donbok Khymdeit to score. It was 2-0 at half-time. In the 54th minute, Milancy Khongstia made it 3-0 scoring off a rebound. In spite of a goalkeeper change, Gatphoh completed the tally for the home team.

The tournament’s underdogs Arunachal stunned Assam 2-0 to keep their hopes alive for a quarterfinal berth. Toko Polium found the back of the net in the 22nd minute and in the 72nd minute, completed the humiliation for Assam.