4th Khundrakpam ZP Level Inter Ward Football Meet: Chingkhu overcome Sinam via tie break
Source: The Sangai Express
Imphal, June 03 2014:
It was the third place play off, without much consequences, but the match between Chingkhu and Sinam turned out to be a high voltage one with Chingkhu coming from behind to down a spirited Sinam via the tie breaker.
Though not much was at stake as both teams had lost to the opponents in the semi-final stage, that did not stop them from putting their best foot forward and dish out an entertaining match, much to the delight of the fans who had turned up to watch the match.
Both teams started tentatively, wary of the striking prowess of each other and did not really open up their game, satisfied with the occasional raid and relied on the counter attacks.
The deadlock continued till the 21st minute of the match with neither team able to breach the defence of the other.
It was the team from Sinam which drew first blood in the 22nd minute following a defensive lapse on the part of Chingkhu.
With the players from Sinam spread out all over the field, the defence line of Chingkhu was stretched to the limit.
The goal came after a defender of Chingkhu failed to clear the ball properly.
The forward line of Sinam took full opportunity of the weak clearance and they pounced on the ball and after some quick passing between them, made their way into the penalty box of the rival team.
H Premkumar positioned himself well to receive a through pass near the goal mouth.
Neatly trapping the ball, H Premkumar managed to unleash a powerful shot and send the ball into the far end of the net in the 22nd minute of the match to put his team ahead.
The one goal lead however did not dampen the spirit of the players from Chingkhu and they stuck to a plan and started co-ordinating better.
With better ball possession and better understanding amongst the players, the Chingkhu players gradually started taking control of the mid field, with some quick running down the flanks.
Keeping up the pressure, they repeated raided the territory of Sinam, but the equaliser remained elusive.
Their efforts however paid dividends in the 33rd minute when the ball went to an unmarked Anju who was lurking inside the penalty box of Sinam.
Anju did well to outwit a couple of defenders and after wrong footing a couple of them, let go a rasping shot that left the custodian of Sinam rooted to the spot.
The equaliser put more energy and purpose in the players of Sinam and the direction of the match changed as they started dictating the pace of the match.
Launching a series of attacks from either side of the flanks and with some deft passes amongst them in the mid-field they started raiding the territory of Chingkhu on a number of occasions.
A quick run down the flank saw the players from Sinam breaching the defence line of Chingkhu which was stretched to the limit leaving wide open spaces inside the penalty box.
The quick run down the flank yielded dividends in the 37th minute when H Thoi managed to make contact with a well measured pass and put his team ahead again by a margin of two goals to one.
Stung by the one goal deficit, Chingkhu put more men in the attack and finding the gaps in the defence line of Sinam, took the ball right into the penalty box of Sinam.
In the melee that followed near the goal mouth the Chingkhu team shot a powerful volley towards the goal of Sinam.
Damu of Sinam who was near the goal mouth made a desperate attempt to clear the ball, but the ball deflected off his feet and made its way into the net, resulting in an own goal in the 38th minute.
The two teams could not break the deadlock and regulation time ended with both teams locked at two goals apiece.
In the penalty shoot out, the Chingkhu players kept their composure and managed to convert four kicks while the players of Sinam wilted under the pressure and could manage convert only two to gift the match to the rival team by a margin of 6 goals to four.
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