Football a success story for Meghalaya in 2013

The past year proved to be one of tremendous success for Meghalaya in the state’s favourite sport, football.
The progress made was seen both at the senior and, very encouragingly, at the junior levels and it will be hoped by the fans of the state that the momentum can be carried forward into the next year and beyond.
The sign of things to come began early on in the year with the Meghalaya U-16 boys team finishing a commendable third in a national football tournament, held in Bhubaneshwar.
However, things were about to get far better.
March saw the beginning of the I-League’s Second Division with three teams from the state taking part: Langsning, Royal Wahingdoh and Rangdajied United.
With one club from Meghalaya in the I-League, there was belief that another club could arise and take a place in Indian football’s top tier and Rangdajied stormed through and won the 2nd Division at the end of April.
The new kids joined Shillong Lajong, who ensured that they would take part in the 2013-14 season by finishing 11th at the end of their campaign.
Shillong was thus able to look forward to hosting an I-League derby between the two local clubs, which was held in November.
Arguably the biggest match of the year if not in the city’s history, the JN Stadium was packed to the rafters for the Battle of Shillong, which ended 1-1.
Off the field, there was great pride taken when the floodlights at the JN Stadium, Polo, were inaugurated in March when Meghalaya played host to the 4th T Ao Memorial Football Tournament, an event that was a grand success even if the home team only finished in third place, behind Mizoram and champions Manipur.
Many I-League matches were subsequently held under the floodlights and, although there were a few hiccups along the way, they have proved a success.
Back to the future footballers, Meghalaya earned further glory when their boys team lifted the National U-16 Sub-Junior Football Tournament on May 28.
There was further triumph for the youth of the state when the U-17 boys, represented by OM Roy Memorial HSS, won the Subroto Cup in their division on October 19.
Their achievement, only the third time a team from the state had won the tournament, overshadowed the efforts of the U-17 girls and U-14 boys teams, who exited in the semifinals and quarterfinals of their events.
Despite not winning, these teams did very well to reach the level they did, especially the girls, who were hampered after some players were ruled as ineligible.
The quality of the youth football players was praised on OM Roy Memorial’s return, but during a felicitation ceremony in Shillong, it was noted that quite often talented youngsters do not go on to have the same success at the senior level, which has meant that the state team has not performed very well.
In the I-League, newbies Rangdajied struggled early on even as Lajong delivered a shock by beating Dempo 3-0 in Goa in September in their first game this season.
SLFC went a few matches at home without victory, however, but turned things around somewhat towards the end of the year and that, coupled with their good form away, which has seen two further victories outside of Shillong, saw them end 2013 in a solid fourth place, giving hope to their fans of a top half finish to the season.
The Blues, as Rangdajied are fondly known, had to struggle for points through draws at home but then pulled off a brilliant 2-0 victory over Mohun Bagan in Kolkata, before coming home and stunning their supporters with a 3-2 victory over Pune FC at home when they were trailing the more experienced team 2-0 at half time.
Rangdajied were also able to lift the Shillong Premier League title in December, overturning Royal Wahingdoh’s three-year streak with a close 1-0 triumph over Malki SC, who performed very well to finish as runners-up.
The SPL season, however, saw poor turn-outs in some matches. Several officials close to the clubs and Meghalaya football also felt that the quality of play was lower this year than in the past, with only a few teams really capable of winning the tournament.
Nevertheless, Rangdajied were deserving winners, taking the SPL title without losing a single match. The Blues are still in the bottom two of the I-League, but with better performances every game, Shillong, and the state, hope that the team can be part of a fantastic 2014 for football in Meghalaya.

ATP