Shillong, Sep 17: Rangdajied United put in a good performance to win 2-1 against Nangkiew Irat in their Shillong Premier League 2026 match at the SSA Stadium here on Thursday.
Mebannangkiew Thabah (18’) and Micky Marwein (81’) scored for Rangdajied and Ronaldkydon L Nonglait (32’) for Nangkiew Irat.
RUFC have thus won back-to-back games after a slow start to the season saw them winless in their first three fixtures. As a result they have climbed from eighth place to sixth, with Nangkiew Irat falling to seventh and Meghalaya Police to eighth. All three, plus fifth-placed Nongkseh, have 7 points each, with goal difference and goals scored used to separate them.
The game was a lively one and Rangdajied showed themselves to be far more capable today than in the past, with better passing, ball control and decision-making on display.
The diminutive Gideon Mukhim was impressive on the right flank and he provided the assist for the opening goal, with Mebannangkiew tapping in the cross. Gideon’s sharp thinking saw him race towards a rebound after his teammate Mebatskhem L Lyngkhoi had rattled the woodwork from distance.
At the other end, Nangkiew Irat had a chance to level five minutes later when Rangdajied goalkeeper Meshan Banjop Sumer spilled a ball that he should have gathered. However, Nangkiew failed to punish the keeper for his mistake.
Nangkiew Irat fielded Akash Thapa in goal today for the first time this season and he made a noteworthy save in the 28th minute to deny Rangdajied point blank. RUFC did manage to score from the rebound but the player who did so was found to be offside.
The pressure started to switch from here, with Nangkiew Irat getting more of the ball. Jefferson Pakyntein had an attempt blocked by Ejingmut Dkhar half an hour in and Yhoto Lohe’s left-footer from close was deflected away from danger around 10 minutes later.
In between came Ronaldkydon’s goal, which he scored by nailing a challenging high ball, which absolutely flew into the net.
Nangkiew Irat were not able to keep up the pressure after the break and Rangdajied had more opportunities, with Gideon heading over and Ejingmut going wide. Ronaldkydon thought he had done enough to give Nangkiew Irat the lead in the 71st minute but his otherwise perfect shot took a slight deflection from a Rangdajied player to go out for a corner.
In the end it was Micky who provided the winner, striking the ball cleanly from the left of the box into the opposite corner of the net.
On Friday, ninth-placed Laitkor will take on fourth-placed Sawmer at 3pm, with the former in desperate need of a win to give them hope of avoiding relegation.
