Shillong, Oct 19: Mawkhar required a tiebreaker to beat Nongkrem for the First Division 2026 title, with today’s final at the SSA Stadium being decided 4-3 in the shootout after no goals were scored in 120 minutes of action.
The two clubs were vying for top honours, though both had secured promotion to the Shillong Premier League 2027 by reaching the final.
Nongkrem appeared to have the edge in terms of fans, though there were quite a few Mawkhar supporters as well who made their voices heard.
There were plenty of good moves by both sides in the 90 minutes and then 30 minutes of extra time but no goals. Some of that was down to the excellent goalkeeping of Mawkhar’s Skhemborlang Marshra, who was subsequently named Player of the Final.
As champions Mawkhar received Rs 2 lakh in prize money, with the cheque and trophy being presented by Sports & Youth Affairs Minister Wailadmiki Shylla, while Nongkrem took home Rs 1 lakh. Both teams have played one season each in the SPL before, Nongkrem in 2016 and Mawkhar in 2022.
Top Scorer awards were also given jointly to Eliasstar Nongsiej of Mylliem Lum and Badonkupar Marbaniang of Nongthymmai. They scored five goals each.
(TSR photo)
