SSU, DM RAO post slender wins to keep final berth pursuit alive
Source: The Sangai Express
Imphal, January 02 2019:
SSU, Singjamei and DM RAO, Sekmai emerged victorious to keep their pursuit for the final berth of the ongoing 12th Manipur State League 2017 alive after being dropped to loser's bracket in their previous matches.
The first match of the day saw DM RAO see off AIM, Khabam by 2-1 goals after spending a sterile first half.
AIM, who defeated DM RAO in the league stage were caught by surprise when Henba of the latter team broke the deadlock in the 56th minute.
AIM also rallied back in search of equaliser but failed to find the target.
Their hope of drawing parity eventually came to an end when Thangjoilen found the net late in the 89th minute and gave DM RAO a comfortable 2-0 lead.
Akbar Khan of AIM grabbed a goal in the 90th minute but it was too late for them to return into the game.
The second match of the day was an exciting one as SSU who were trailing 1-2 to Muvanlai Athletics in the first half rose back in the second half and sealed a 4-3 win to set up next date with DM RAO on January 5.SSU and Muvanlai Athletics had a cautious start making a series of tackles and interceptions leaving the ball mostly in the midfield until T Roshan found the breakthrough in the 18th minute of the match and handed SSU a slender 1-0 lead.
Muvanlai however replied back quickly throwing more men in the SSU's half and it was in the 22nd minute that they got the equaliser through Lunginthang who also gave them the lead three minutes latter.
After failing to draw level in the first half, the Singjamei side struggled hard after the restart and their effort yielded positive result when H Poreiton beat Muvanlai keeper and levelled the scoreline in the 58th minute.
The equaliser boosted confidence of the Singjamei side considerably and the result was witnessed 4 minutes latter with L Roshan earning them the lead before striking another the very next minute and made it 4-2 past Muvanlai Athletics.
SSU then guarded their lead to safety for a major portion of time but had to conceded a goal when Haolengai of cashed in a perfect opportunity to make it 4-3 during additional time after Muvanlai's many unsuccessful late charges.
Match schedule for the remaining part of MSL in given below.