VASCO: Captain Sehijpal Singh saved the day for his side with a goal in the dying minutes as Chandigarh defeated
Meghalaya
2-1 in a group clash of the
Santosh Trophy at the Tilak Maidan in Vasco on Tuesday.
After a dull first half, Meghalaya managed to break the deadlock in the 51st minute through Kitboklang Pale but Chandigarh equalized after Gagandeep Singh nodded in from close in the 64th minute.
Just when the teams seemed like settling for a draw, medio Sehijpal scored the match-winner with a neat placement in added time.
The teams were aiming to get their campaign back on track after setbacks in their opening matches. Meghalaya lost to hosts Goa (1-2) while Chandigarh were unlucky not to get a point as Bengal snatched a late win in the opening game.
Meghalaya got off to a fine start and took their opponents by surprise with their pace. Enestar Malngiang, the under-22 striker, and winger Kitboklang breathed down the Chandigarh defence relentlessly. Kitboklang had the best chance to score early on after a fine pass by Enestar but keeper
Harpritpal
Singh came up with a good save.
Lanky Chandigarh centre-backs Jarmanjit Singh and Gagandeep had a busy evening and cleared everything that came their way. Chandigarh, playing in the Santosh Trophy final round for the first time, soaked in the pressure well and Akash Sangwan’s powerful half volley in the 17th minute, which hit the side netting, was the only time they came close.
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