Manipur end Santosh Trophy qualifiers undefeated, cruise into final round
Source: Chronicle News Service
Imphal, October 17 2023:
Manipur eased into the final round of the 77th National Football Championship for Santosh Trophy 2023-24, with a 3-0 drubbing of Jharkhand in their last group match at Vijay Singh Pathik Stadium, Greater Noida, Uttar Pradesh, on Tuesday.
The state squad finished the qualifying round undefeated, winning all their five matches to emerge as the Group C winners on their way to the 77th Santosh Trophy final round.
In their campaign opener, Manipur beat Tamil Nadu 1-0 on October 8 and then thumped Uttar Pradesh 6-2 in their second match on October 10 .
They followed that up with a 6-2 win over Nagaland on October 12 .
The state team continued their unrivalled success with a 5-0 hammering of Madhya Pradesh on October 15, before finishing their Group C fixtures with a 3-0 thrashing of Jharkhand on Tuesday.
In their last group match, Wangkhemayum Sadananda, Ngangbam Pacha Singh and Samson all got their names on the scoreboard.
Sadananda opened the scoring in the 22nd minute, then Pacha extended the lead in the 37th minute before Samson made it 3-0 in the 87th minute for the eventual result.
The final round of the 77th National Football Championship for Santosh Trophy 2023-24 will be held in Arunachal Pradesh.