RFDL Regional Qualifiers in Meghalaya-Assam Recap: Shillong Lajong & NorthEast United Progress To National Group Stage

Shillong Lajong and NorthEast United concluded the qualifiers with identical 24 points from 10 matches and remained undefeated throughout the campaign. Lajong, though, had a goal difference of +26 compared to NorthEast United’s +20 which helped them win the group and claim the top position.

The two teams will now go into different pools in the National Group Stage and then subsequently aim to qualify for the RFDL National Championships, which is India’s biggest youth football tournament for the U21 players.

https://twitter.com/RFYouthSports/status/1649014814491181056 

The RFDL provides a platform for young footballers in India to showcase their talent & skills. Youth teams from Hero Indian Super League, Hero I-League and independent academies compete in a first-of-its-kind nationwide football tournament that aims to create a sustainable football ecosystem in India. Over 50 teams divided into nine regional groups competed in the league.

Rangdajied United FC suffered just two defeats from 10 matches, but such was the dominance from Shillong Lajong and NorthEast United that they ended up third on 18 points. Ryntih FC (eight points), Malki SC (six points) and Mawlai SC (four points) were the remaining teams in the group and finished in the respective order.

The RFDL Regional Qualifiers in Meghalaya-Assam were played on the Meghalaya Football Ground in Shillong from March 18 to April 10.
Group winners Shillong Lajong and runners-up NorthEast United faced each other on the opening day of the Regional Qualifiers and played out a 1-1 draw. Their second meeting also ended in a stalemate with two sides netting two goals apiece.

The two teams exchanged the top position multiple times during the first four matchdays of the competition. Shillong Lajong’s 7-0 win over Malki and 10-0 victory over Mawlai a few days later helped them build a healthy goal difference.

NorthEast United, whose senior side competes in the Hero ISL, got their biggest win of the Regional Qualifiers against Malki when they scored five goals without conceding in the penultimate game. A 1-1 draw against Rangdajied United earlier in the campaign, however, cost the team the top spot in the group.
Despite not claiming the top spot, NorthEast United can take plenty of positives from the Regional Qualifiers.
NorthEast United’s defence was rock solid throughout the campaign, keeping six clean sheets from 10 games, the most by any team. The club conceded just five goals in the campaign, joint-fewest with Rangdajied United.

Not only in defence, but their striker Alfred Lalruotsang showed his class by netting 12 goals, the most by any player in the Regional Qualifiers of RFDL in Meghalaya-Assam. The next best was six by Samchaphrang Lato of Shillong Lajong and Freddy Banteilang Jyrwa of Malki.
Shillong Lajong netted 32 goals in the tournament, the highest in the group, without relying on a single player. Their biggest wins of the tournament, 10-0 and 7-0, did not have a single hat-trick scorer - a testament to their brilliant teamwork.

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