KLASA FC down MA as SSU edge AFC to progress to State League semis
Source: Chronicle News Service
Imphal, January 24 2022:
KLASA FC (Keinou) and SSU (Singjamei) triumphed in their respective quarterfinal matches of the 14th Manipur State League on Monday.
KLASA FC started the day with a 2-0 victory over Muvanlai Athletics (Kangpokpi) to book their semifinal berth.
The major part of the game saw a see-saw battle riddled with some squandered chances from both sides but the Keinou squad stamped their authority in the later stages of the match.
After a barren first half, the game finally burst into life when Lunminlen broke the Muvanlai defence to drill home KLASA's opener in the 79th minute.
The ensuing minutes saw Muvanlai's spirited comeback efforts with a flurry of attacks but KLASA successfully fended off the former's challenge.
KLASA then capitalised on a goalmouth tussle to set up Monish for their second goal just before the end of injury time as they enjoyed a convincing 2-0 result on their way to the last four.
SSU, meanwhile, eliminated AFC (Thoubal Athokpam) in a thrilling penalty shootout to confirm their spot in the semifinals.
The match went into spot kicks after the two sides were deadlocked at 1-1 after regulation time.
Th Surat Meitei put SSU ahead in the 12th minute and they led the game through the early stages of the second half until Sahidur Rahaman restored parity for AFC in the 73rd minute that forced 1-1 draw and the penalty shootout.
In the shootout, SSU held their nerves to secure an exhilarating 6-5 win courtesy of M Kabiraj, Th Premjit, L Roshan, H Snital, N Sushilkumar and Th Suraj who all converted from the spot.
The next quarterfinal fixtures on Tuesday see SU (Sagolband) take on AIM (Khabam) and UKB (Churachandpur) clash with (KIYC (Kshetrigao) .