The rain-soaked ground at the Ambedkar Stadium here witnessed history today as Betkuchi High School of Assam posted a stunning 1-0 win over defending champions Greenwood School, Nagaland to enter the U-14 final of the Subroto Cup football tournament for the first time.
It was a well earned victory for the boys from Assam who had to defend fiercely for much of the game. The team from Nagaland held the upper hand for most of the first half but Assam's Birkwdao Daimary scripted an unexpected twist in the script just before half-time with a well-taken corner which eluded Greenwood goalkeeper Pitoka to find the net.
As his team mates exploded with joy after the final whistle, Daimary was the very picture of steely determination.
"It was a lucky goal. We now have to win the final," he said.
Meanwhile, NCC (North Eastern Region) secured a berth in the second U-14 semifinal with a 1-0 win over St Anthony's School, East Khasi Hills, Meghalaya.
Meghalaya were the superior team by a considerable margin and the way they built up their attacks from the defence through the mid-field was a delight to watch. NCC were forced onto the backfoot for the whole of the opening session but took the lead just before the break as the unmarked striker exploited one of the rare lapses in the Meghalaya defence to head in a cross.
Conceding the lead seemed to take the wind out of Meghalaya's sail while NCC became more confident. It was a more equal contest in the second half but NCC held on for the win.
In the Junior (U-17) category matches which started on Friday, former champions NCC (West Bengal & Sikkim) rode on an Anil Kujur strike to beat North Eastern English School, Manipur by a single goal and give their campaign a winning start.
