Shillong, Sep 17: After four defeats and three draws Sawmer struck gold against Meghalaya Police in their eighth match of Shillong Premier League 2018 with a 1-0 victory at the SSA Stadium here today.
After deadlock reigned for 99% of the match, and it looked like we would have our fifth straight draw, Gamelial Kharlyngdoh put the ball into the net in the second minute of stoppage time (90+2) to earn Sawmer their first full points in the SPL.
The draw takes Sawmer to six points from eight games, but they’re still at the bottom of the seven-team league, tied on points with Nangkiew Irat but behind on head-to-head. MLP stay in fourth place with eight points.
The pitch was relatively dry, but its surface uneven, which was seen when balls, instead of rolling smoothly across the grass, bobbled up and down.
That made playing on it difficult, but the police still had the edge in terms of shots and shots on target. Fernando Mannar and Yasamlang Khyriem were the most impressive up front for MLP, but the team that has scored the fewest goals all season (just five) couldn’t find the mark.
Sawmer’s goalkeeper Sunshine Kharmuti had another good day under the bar and at the other end his team mates troubled the cops on a few occasions, but it was really MLP’s game to lose.
Lose it they did, though. In stoppage time Kenio Lyngkhoi made a sharp save at the near post for MLP. The resulting corner was delivered into the box, zipped past two Sawmer players and the police defenders, but Kharlyngdoh connected with it at the far post to earn victory seconds from the final whistle.
Tomorrow Malki will take on Langsning at 5:30PM.
(TSR file photo)