Shillong, May 3: Meghalaya conceded late but held on for a 2-1 win against Kerala in Group A of the Swami Vivekananda U-20 Men’s National Football Championship 2025 in Narainpur, Chhattisgarh, on Saturday.
Banlamkupar Rynjah (27′) and Deibormame Tongper (68′) scored for Meghalaya, with Mohammed Adhnan (90’+1) pulling one back through a penalty kick.
Meghalaya had defeated Rajasthan in their opening fixture on April 29 and Saturday’s second victory puts them on 6 points.
Coach Bobby L Nongbet made just one change to his starting line-up from that match, bringing in Ricky Kharkongor in place of Pyrkhatshaphrang Sumer.
Banlamkupar struck a strong left-footer past a defender and the Kerala goalkeeper from inside the box in the first half to give Meghalaya the lead. Kerala helped with the second goal, with the goalkeeper, Devanandan, failing to clear a back pass. This gave Deibormame the opening to tap the ball into a vacant net.
A foul in the box on the cusp of stoppage time provided some hope for Kerala but, though they converted the spot kick via Adhnan, they were not able to find the equaliser, with the Meghalaya boys doing well to deny them much possession.
Meghalaya have one more group game to go, against Bihar on Monday.
