Shillong, July 21: Langsning FC retook second place in the OC Blue Shillong Premier League 2021-22 after a 1-1 draw with Ryntih SC at Third Ground, Polo, here on Thursday.
The result means that Langsning have 11 points after six rounds, tied with Rangdajied United but the two-time champions have head-to-head advantage after beating Rangdajied 2-1 on July 7. RUFC thus dropped to third while Ryntih remained in fourth position.
Dawanchwa Challam scored for Ryntih in the seventh minute before Shano Tariang equalised in the 24th.
Challam may or may not have been looking to cross the ball but his effort after running up the right flank looped over Langsning goalkeeper Surjay Kumar Pariyar and went into the net to give Ryntih the start they needed, after their last outing saw Mawlai SC drub them 5-0.
The ball fell to Challam after Langsning gave it away a little too casually and they were guilty of that on occasion in the minutes following.
However, Ryntih were not immune from this either and Dawanplielad Myrchiang handed the ball on a platter to Kitboklang Pale, who tapped it to the free Tariang to his right and he fired in a low shot past keeper Luckystar Lawai for the equaliser. This also happened to be the 60th goal of the OC Blue SPL season.
Surprisingly, that turned out to be the last goal of the game despite both sides having good chances.
Figo Syndai of Langsning blasted a left-footer that flicked the crossbar on half an hour while Myrchiang almost made up for his error earlier on but a powerful header off a free-kick went over.
Switching over, Lawai stood out between the sticks for Ryntih, making great saves off attempts on goal by Tariang, Dibinroy Nongspung, Pale and Batiphar Swer.
At the other end, Ryntih seemed out of sorts and did not really test Pariyar in goal, though there was one chance for Sheen Sohktung to chip the ball over the Langsning keeper after spotting him off his line but the attempt was wayward. Otherwise, despite Robert Khongjoh’s good ground play, Ryntih could not make their mark in the second half, especially as the Langsning defence was unwilling to make any silly mistakes.
Apart from Langsning, who reclaimed second place, the winners from this draw are league leaders Mawlai, who, with a five-point lead, are guaranteed to finish the first half of the season at the top of the standings no matter what happens in their match next week.
After a day’s break, Round 7 will begin on Saturday between defending champions and sixth-placed Shillong Lajong FC and seventh-placed Malki SC. Both teams have 4 points, with Lajong leading on goal difference (-6 to -11).
