Services defeated Meghalaya 1-0 in their Group A fixture of the 77th National Football Championship for the Santosh Trophy 2023-24 final round in Itanagar today.
The only goal came deep into stoppage time when Shafeel PP (90’+6) converted a spot kick following a handball by Damonlang Pathaw.
Apart from the final, where they lost to Karnataka, Meghalaya’s only defeat in last year’s Santosh Trophy was to Services. That match was also the first of the final round and Meghalaya still went on to reach the final.
Today’s goal came about after a free-kick was headed away to the edge of the box but a powerful shot from a Services player connected with Damonlang’s raised arm, resulting in a penalty.
Khlain Pyrkhat Syiemlieh’s boys had the slight edge in terms of possession (52 percent to 48 percent) and more shots on target (6 to 2) but could not convert that into goals.
The Meghalaya defence was a little too open, giving their opponents numerous opportunities to get into dangerous positions, but Services were also mostly off the mark with their attempts.
In today’s other match from the group, Kerala defeated Assam 3-1.
Meghalaya will next play Assam on Friday at 2:30pm.
