Shillong, Nov 1: Meghalaya’s fantastic run in the Sub-Junior Boys National Football Championship 2025-26 (Tier 2) came to an end at the semifinal stage after they lost 3-1 to Telangana in extra time in Narainpur, Chhattisgarh, today morning.
Meghalaya had won all three of their Group C matches handsomely to qualify for the knockout round but Telangana had done the same in Group A and were formidable opponents.
After a deadlocked first hour, Meghalaya, coached by Dapmon Tariang, scored first through the prolific Marbiang Marwein (60′) in what was his 10th goal of the competition.
However, things soon began to go against Meghalaya, with a direct red card for Elvin Joe Kharsahnoh in the 72nd minute. Despite strong efforts, being reduced to 10 players made it difficult and they could not prevent Telangana from equalising through Stolzer Kamson (80′).
With the scoreline reading 1-1 after 90 minutes, the game was pushed into half an hour of extra time and here Telangana scored twice to take the semifinal. Stolzer (110′) and Mohammed Anas (120’+2) were the providers and Stolzer was named Player of the Match.
It was a tough defeat to take for the Meghalaya boys after they left everything they had out on the pitch.
The group games saw Meghalaya thoroughly outplay the opposition, such was the difference in ability. The state team is really at a Tier 1 level but were demoted to Tier 2 this year after being unable to field a team in 2024 due to several players failing age checks.
