Riyadh, Mar 1 (PTI) Meghalaya stunned former champions Punjab 2-1 in the semifinals to book a maiden summit clash berth of the Santosh Trophy national football championships in their first attempt here on Wednesday.
Meghalaya, playing in their first semifinals, made an impressive fightback as they rallied from a goal deficit to beat their eight-time champions opponents.
Punjab came into the semifinals without losing a match. They had topped their group in both the first and second rounds.
The semifinals, the third-place play-off and the final is being played here as the Santosh Trophy is being held at the foreign shores for the first time in its history.
Paramjit Singh had given Punjab lead in the 16th minute but Meghalaya restored parity in the 37th minute through Figo Syndai when he coolly slotted home after Nikelson Bina had headed down on the face of the goal.
Meghalaya controlled large parts of the match after the equaliser but could not find a goal till the fag end of the match.
Sheen Stevenson Sohktung found the target in the injury added time (90+1) in the match played in the near empty King Fahd International Stadium.
Punjab, who left out a few players that had played in the second round in Bhubaneswar, thus have to wait for the title which they last won in 2007-08. They had topped the Group B with an unbeaten record in Bhubaneswar.
Source: PTI News
