Shillong, Jul 30: Lapalang held out for a 1-0 victory in a tense first quarterfinal against Laitlulong in the Shillong Sports Association’s U-20 Fourth Division 2025 at the SSA Stadium at First Ground, Polo, here today.
Both sides ended with 10 players on the pitch and there were a couple of interruptions for pushing and shoving that threatened to boil over as well as a few harsh tackles. One of the the Laitlulong players was even shown a red card after the match for words with the referee.
Emineki Pohthmi (56′) of Lapalang scored the only goal in the 80-minute match and it was a controversial one, at least for Laitlulong. The assistant referee had raised the flag for offside but the referee, as he is fully entitled to do as the final authority, waved and shouted for play to continue. Laitlulong’s players made the mistake of stopping in their tracks when the flag went up instead of waiting for the referee’s whistle, which didn’t come. Emineki, however, continued his run and scored.
Victory means that not only have Lapalang qualified for the semifinals but they will also be promoted back to the Third Division next season. Lapalang had been relegated from the Third Division in 2024 but have only needed one season to climb their way back up again.
Tomorrow’s fixtures:
Third Division – Group B – Umrynjah vs Lumparing, 1PM
Fourth Division – QF2 – Mawlynrei vs Golflink, 3:30PM
(TSR photo. Laitlulong in white/black, Lapalang in blue)
