Team Meghalaya scripts history to enter maiden Santosh Trophy final

Team Meghalaya defeated Punjab, the former champion, 2-1 in the semifinals to earn a first-time berth in the summit clash of the Santosh Trophy national football championships on March 1 in Riyadh.

Meghalaya, in their first semifinal, rallied from a goal down to defeat their eight-time champion opponents with an impressive comeback.

Punjab had never lost a game before reaching the semifinals. In the first and second rounds, they had topped their group.

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Since the Santosh Trophy is being held abroad for the first time in its history, the semifinals, third-place play-off, and final are being played here.

In the 16th minute, Paramjit Singh gave Punjab the lead, but Meghalaya equalized in the 37th minute when Figo Syndai coolly slotted home after Nikelson Bina had headed down on the goal face.

After the equalizer, Meghalaya had a lot of the game under control, but they didn't score until the final minute.

In the match that took place in the King Fahd International Stadium, which was nearly empty at the time, Sheen Stevenson Sohktung scored in injury time (90+1).

As a result, Punjab, who missed out on some players who had played in the second round in Bhubaneswar, will have to wait for the title they last won in 2007-08. With an unbeaten record in Bhubaneswar, they topped Group B.