Shillong, Dec. 23 -- Christmas came early for Meghalaya football fans as their state team defeated Arunachal Pradesh 2-1 in the last Group E game of the Senior Men's National Football Championship for Santosh Trophy 2025-26 and qualified for the final round, which will be played next month in Assam.
Meghalaya needed to win and score at least two goals and that is exactly what happened, but it was a nervy 90 minutes for the fans who thronged the SSA Stadium here this evening.
Shano Tariang (67) headed the first goal in just four minutes after coming on as a substitute, while Apborlang Kurbah (74) doubled the lead a few minutes later.
Arunachal were not out of the fight, however, and they pulled a goal back through Midul Doley (83) but the...