Classic FA set up 12th Shaheed Manoranjan Singh Memorial Football final date with KSC
Source: The Sangai Express
Imphal, January 23 2022:
Classic FA, Chingmeirong will lock horns with KSC, Kangpokpi in the ultimate clash of the 12th Shaheed Manoranjan Singh Memorial CRPF Football tournament organised by the 143 Bn CRPF, Lamphel at SAI football turf.
In the first semi-final match of the tournament, Solomon scored a hattrick to ensure the Kangpokpi side overwhelm Sagolband United (SU) 4-1 .
KSC took a freak first minute lead as SU's Lenin conceded an own goal but diligent SU made up for their mistake making relentless effort and managed to close the gap when Anandkumar converted a chance at the stroke of half hour mark.
The game took a huge turn after the restart as KSC, who recently lifted the title of the 25th Winners' Cup, started gradually dominating the game with their attacking third and midfielders working in tandem.
After a few runs, Solomon broke through the SU defence and opened his account to give KSC a 2-1 lead.
Solomon rose yet again in the 70th minute to score his second and hand KSC the two goal cushion before completing his hat-trick in the 82nd minute to make it 4-1 .
And as SU failed to make the most of their chances in the latter portion of the game, KSC cruised home 4-1 to seal the final ticket.
Meanwhile, Classic FA made a dramatic comeback in the dying minutes to salvage a 2-2 normal time draw with YUFC, Ukhrul in the second semi-final match.
The game was eventually extended to a penalty shoot-out to decide the winners wherein Classic FA ran out 6-3 winners scoring four from the spot against YUFC's one.
Blessing Keishing shone in the match as he gave YUFC a 1-0 first half lead with his goal in the 28th minute before he completed a brace with another goal in the 57th minute.
YUFC looked confident to make it to the final as CFA were unable to make the most of their chances for a major part of the game but Joel's goal at the stroke of 90 minute hugely boosted CFA morale.
Bijeshwar then converted a last ditch effort deep into the stoppage time (90+4') to ensure CFA come to level terms with the Ukhrul team till the final whistle.
In the shoot-out, unlucky YUFC could find the target once via Ayat whereas Serto, Dimngel, Dettol and Robert all scored from the spot to make the final score read 6-3 .
The final match and the valedictory function is scheduled on January 29 at SAI Sports Complex.