Shillong, July 29: Defending champions Mawlai SC will face their biggest challenge when they meet old foes Laitkor SC in the final of the Shillong Sports Association’s (SSA) Women’s League 2023 at the SSA Stadium at First Ground, Polo, here on Saturday afternoon.

Kick-off will be at 3:30pm and tickets will be available at the venue.

The much-anticipated match will be a repeat of 2022’s final, which Mawlai won 2-1 in extra time to lift the inaugural Women’s League trophy.

The teams this year have delivered a huge improvement in terms of performance and the action has been intense but, in the end, it was Laitkor and Mawlai who again reached the title match.

However, that is not to say that the two top sides have had it all their own way.

Mawlai have had to endure two very challenging games recently. First, in a contest that would decide who would qualify at the top of Group B, they went behind to Lumparing SC in their last group fixture on 14 July before drawing 3-3. Then, in the semifinal against PFR Academy last Saturday, they took the lead early on but PFR equalised in the first half itself and Mawlai could only win the game after a penalty shootout when even extra time failed to separate the two.

Laitkor, on the other hand, are the only team to have won all of their matches this season but they too conceded first in the semifinal against Lumparing before coming back for a resounding 4-1 win. The big challenge for them will be performing without the services of Iaraplang Nongrum, who scored a hat-trick last Saturday and plenty of goals before that. In a great result for Meghalaya women’s football, she was selected for a scholarship to attend Bhaichung Bhutia Football Schools’ residential academy in Nashik, Maharashtra.

Still, Laitkor are bursting with talent throughout their squad and going up the equally impressive Mawlai should make Saturday’s final a treat to watch.

Also read: 3 years of NEP 2020: Transforming Indian education, from rote learning to critical thinking

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