West Bengal registered a hard-fought 2-0 win against Meghalaya to finish on top of Group A at Goa in the Santosh Trophy tournament and subsequently progress through to the semi-finals on Monday. Meghalaya, who needed a win to keep their hopes alive for a place in the semi-finals, were ousted from the competition, reported PTI.
West Bengal absorbed early pressure from their opponents and lead through Shaikhom Ronald against the run of play in the ninth minute. Manvir Singh set up the goal with a square pass to Ronald, keeper Kenio Lyngkhoi with a deft touch inside the area.
Meghalaya lost their way from that stage, and West Bengal had a slight edge over them during the rest of the contest. Singh had a glorious chance in the 23rd minute but shot over the bar after being put through on goal by Ronald.
A couple of changes at the half-time break saw Meghalaya have an encouraging spell of possession early into the second half. Fullmoon Mukhim’s header went over the bar and Kitboklang Pale’s shot went straight into the hands of keeper Sankar Roy. Singh registered his name on the scoresheet in the 86th minute of the game as Meghalaya were caught out at the back on the counter-attack.
Meghalaya continued to push men forward and came close to scoring on atleast two occasions in the final minutes of the contest. West Bengal finished their league engagements with 10 points to top Group A and will meet the runners of Group B in the first semi-finals on March 23. Goa, who finished second with eight points after winning 2-1 against Services, will meet Kerala in the second semi-final.
Brief scores:
- West Bengal 2 (Shaikhom Ronald, Manvir Singh) beat Meghalaya 0