Shillong, Sept 11: Nongkseh SS&CC produced the most emphatic victory of the Shillong Premier League (SPL) 2026 so far, crushing Meghalaya Police 7-1 at the SSA Stadium here on Friday.
Captain Hardy Cliff Nongbri was at the heart of the rout, scoring four times (6’, 12’, 55’, 87’) to claim the first hat-trick of this season’s SPL. Kitboklang Pale (42’), Shano Tariang (61’) and substitute Aenam Jyrwa (65’) were the other scorers for Nongkseh, while Bisharlang Kharumnuid (78’) scored the lone goal for Meghalaya Police.
Nongkseh needed just six minutes to take control, with Hardy opening the scoring before adding his second six minutes later. Pale then struck just before half-time to give Nongkseh a commanding 3-0 lead at the break.
The onslaught continued after the restart. Hardy completed his hat-trick in the 55th minute before Tariang and Jyrwa added further goals within four minutes of each other. Kharumnuid briefly reduced the deficit for Meghalaya Police in the 78th minute, but Hardy completed his four-goal haul 10 minutes later to seal Nongkseh’s biggest win of the campaign.
The victory also marked a dramatic turnaround for Nongkseh, who had struggled for goals in the opening weeks of the season. They had scored only twice in their first four matches and entered Friday’s game eighth in the table with four points. Meghalaya Police, meanwhile, began the match fourth with seven points.
Nongkseh and Meghalaya Police had previously met in the 2025 Shillong Sports Association First Division title decider, where Nongkseh secured a 1-0 victory to lift the trophy. Both teams were subsequently promoted to the SPL 2026 as champions and runners-up respectively.
Nongkseh’s latest victory takes them to seven points from five matches, level with both Meghalaya Police and Nangkiew Irat. Their superior goal difference of +5 moves them into fourth place, while Nangkiew Irat remain fifth on -1 and Meghalaya Police fall to sixth on -5.
Shillong Lajong will take on Sawmer in Saturday’s fixture, with kick-off scheduled for 3pm.
