Narainpur (Chhattisgarh), May 13 (IANS) Meghalaya took a step closer to qualifying for the quarterfinals of the Swami Vivekananda U20 Men’s National Football Championship from Group A, routing Andhra Pradesh at the Rama Krishna Mission Ashrama in Narainpur, Chhattisgarh, on Wednesday.

In other matches, Jharkhand defeated Rajasthan in Group A, while Group C saw Kerala defeat Chandigarh, and Uttarakhand win against Andaman and Nicobar.

Meghalaya routed Andhra Pradesh 8-1 on Ground 1 at the RKM Ashrama on Wednesday to take a step closer to qualifying for the quarterfinals. Alex Manar, Mebanlamlynti, and Ryan Gibbs Kharnaior scored two each, while Phermanbha Lyngdoh and Sholinstar Syngkli netted one each. B Bharath Kumar Reddy was the only scorer for Andhra Pradesh.

In the other Group A match, Jharkhand opened their account, defeating Rajasthan 2-1 on Ground 1 at the RKM Ashrama on Wednesday.

Rajasthan took the lead through a 6th-minute goal by Rudra Pratap Singh, but Jharkhand levelled the score just before half-time through Roushan Kumar, before Animesh Champia scored the winner with a little over 10 minutes of regulation time left on the clock.

Meghalaya have consolidated their position atop Group A with nine points from three matches and just need a draw against Rajasthan on May 17 to secure the top spot and progression to the quarter-finals of the championship.

Over in Group C, Kerala scored a major 5-1 victory against Chandigarh on Ground 2 at the RKM Ashrama on Wednesday. Sheril Shaji Thomas scored a first-half hat-trick to put Kerala in a commanding position. Sarthak Ghosh did pull one back in the 70th minute for Chandigarh, but Kerala’s Calwin Thomas and Usman TH scored one each late on in the game to secure the three points for the southern state.

In the second Group C match of the day, Uttarakhand routed Andaman and Nicobar 9-1 on Ground 2 at the RKM Ashrama on Wednesday.

Sanjay Mehra and Yash Mittal scored one each early on for Uttarakhand, but P Mohammed Hasir soon pulled one back for Andaman and Nicobar. However, Uttarakhand pulled away from then on, with Gourav Singh and Harshit Mahar scoring two each, while Deboshish Mazumdar and Abhinav Yadav added two late goals. Andaman and Nicobar’s Naveen Kumar scored an own goal later in injury time to complete the result.

Uttarakhand take the provisional pole position in Group C with three points from one game, with Kerala on hot pursuit on the same number of points. The latter are behind on goal difference.

Results:

Meghalaya 8 (Alex Manar 9’, 45’, Mebanlamlynti Masharing 16’, 28’, Ryan Gibbs Kharnaior 48’, 50’, Phermanbha Lyngdoh 58’, Sholinstar Syngkli 84’) def. Andhra Pradesh 1 (B Bharath Kumar Reddy 25’)

Rajasthan 1 (Rudra Pratap Singh 6’) def. Jharkhand 2 (Roushan Kumar 41’, Animesh Champia 79’)

Chandigarh 1 (Sarthak Ghosh 70’) lost to Kerala 5 (Sheril Shaji Thomas 3’, 12’, 29’, Calwin Thomas 71’, Usman TH 86’)

Uttarakhand 9 (Sanjay Mehra 5’, Yash Mittal 25’, Gourav Singh 36’ p, 75’, Harshit Mahar 38’, 67’, Deboshish Mazumdar 81’, Abhinav Yadav 87’, Naveen Kumar 90+3’ og) def. Andaman & Nicobar 1 (P Mohammed Hasir 26’)

–IANS

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