MARGAO: Manipur and Odisha won their respective semi-final clashes to enter the final of the Junior National Championship for Girls U-18 Football tournament, organized by Goa Football Association under the aegis of the All India Football Federation (AIFF), on Monday.
In the first semi-final match, at Rosary Sports Complex, Navelim, Manipur got the better of Delhi with a convincing 4-2 victory.
In-form Kashmina gave Manipur the lead in the very fourth minute. The Manipur team boasting of 10 international players was no match for Delhi and dominated proceedings from the kick-off. Manipur played a very entertaining game and distributed the ball well.
W Ranjibala Devi scored a rapid fire hat-trick with goals in the 33rd, 35th and 43rd minutes to give Manipur a commanding 4-0 lead going into the half-time break.
The three quick goals dampened the Delhi spirits going into the break. The second half saw a lot of midfield action with Delhi pressing hard to pull a goal back led by their charismatic forward Anushka Samuel.
Manipur seemed to have lost little focus in the last ten minutes and Anushka Samuel scored two late goals in the 84th and injury time to give Delhi some consolation.
In the other second semi-final tie at Raia Panchayat Ground, Raia, Odisha humbled Bihar 4-1. Odisha took the lead early with Swarnapriya Nayak scoring a goal in the seventh minute to seize control of the game. Suman Pragyan Mohapatra and Jasmani Samad combined well upfront for Odisha and put a lot of pressure on the rival defense.
Odisha captain Anima Malik made some really good passes to the forwards, sometimes putting the ball through defenders and finding her teammate forward on the run to perfection. One of such passes found Jasmani Samad, who scored in the 34th minute to put Odisha ahead with a comfortable margin of 2-0. Against the run of play, Bihar got a lucky break with a penalty resulting from a hand ball from one of the Odisha defenders.
Shama Rani made no mistake from the spot and pulled one goal back for Bihar in the 37th minute.
The second half saw a total dominance of Odisha and the ball was mostly played in the Bihar territory. Shyama Rani worked tirelessly for Bihar and kept pushing the ball forward and driving her team to score a goal. Jasmani Samad got her second goal in the 68th minute to give Odisha a 3-1 lead.
Susan Pragyan Mohapatra put the icing on the cake for Odisha with a strong volley to put the ball in the back of the net in the 79th minute.
Manipur take on a formidable Odisha in the final on Wednesday, at Rosary Sports Complex, Navelim. The kick-off is 7.30 a.m.
