5th Dr T Ao Memorial Football Tournament : Manipur overwhelm host Mizoram
Source: The Sangai Express
Aizawl, February 06 2014:
Displaying better co-ordination and skills, Manipur overwhelmed host Mizoram by a margin of 4 goals to nil on the second day of the 5th Dr T Ao Memorial North East Football Tournament at Aizawl today.
Both teams took the field in a positive frame of mind and despite the margin of 4 goals to nil, the two teams matched each other, especially in the first half which ended with neither team able to break the deadlock.
The barren first half however was not without its share of some exciting moments as the Mizoram team backed by a strong and vocal home crowd went all out to nail the team from Manipur.
The defence line of Manipur did well to keep the forwards of the Mizoram team at bay and denied them a close look at the goal, despite the repeated runs down on either side of the flanks.
The lemon break was taken with the two teams tied at 0-0 .
In the second half, the Manipur team came into its own and adopted an open and flowing strategy.
Controlling the midfield, the Manipur players started dictating the course of the match and made several inroads into the territory of the Mizoram side.
The attacking style finally paid off in the 58th minute when Kh Naoton found himself well positioned to take a shot at the goal.
The goal was a result of a series of well co-ordinated moves from the midfield and the ball went to Naoton who was well placed near the top of the penalty box.
Deftly controlling the ball, Naoton caught the defenders of Mizoram on the wrong and unleashed a powerful shot that rattled the net of the Mizoram goal to help his team take a one goal lead.
The Manipur team did not rest on their one goal lead and instead put more men on the attack to repeatedly breach the defence line of Mizoram.
The second goal came in the 71st minute, when Sushil successfully read a cross from the flank and after controlling the ball, sent the custodian of Mizoram the wrong way with a crisp shot.
Naoton was at it again in the 73rd minute when he pounced on the ball near the penalty area of the Mizoram side, outwitted a couple of defenders and let loose a power packed kick that caught the custodian of Mizoram rooted to the ground.
Mizoram relied on quick counter attacks but could not initiate any dangerous move with the defence line of Manipur rising to the occasion.
Imran Khan found the target in the 78th minute to complete the rout.