Defending champions Manipur win Junior Girls' National Football Championship
Source: The Sangai Express
Imphal, August 10 2017:
Manipur defeated hosts Odisha by 3-2 to claim the championship title of the Junior Girls’ National Football organised with the support of the All India Football Federation at Barabati Stadium in Cuttack today .
Th Christina and A Roja scored two goals in the 22nd and 41st minutes of the game and Manipur was leading comfortably.
However, an own goal by M Thahenbi gave the hosts a chance just before the half-time .
Heavy rain interrupted the match for a while but the Manipuri attack continued unabated .
Yet in the 81st minute, the winner received a jolt when Odisha’s Suman netted an equaliser.
However, Roja struck again in the last minute of normal time to ensure Manipur have the upper hand .
By regulation time, the scoreline read 3 for Manipur, 2 for Odisha .
Last year, Manipur had won the title after winning the finals by 4-1 against Haryana .
The fortnight long sporting event organised by Football Association of Odisha kicked off on July 26 and featured teams from 28 states in eight groups .
M Surmala and S Manitombi are leading the team as the coach and manager respectively.