By Our Reporter
SHILLONG: Manipur held Mizoram to a goalless draw in the final league match of Group B in the Dr T Ao Memorial Football Tournament at the JN Stadium here on Saturday to set up a semifinal encounter with hosts Meghalaya on Monday.
Following the match, both Mizoram and Manipur qualified for the semi-final from Group B after Tripura was held to a 2-2 draw by Sikkim in the first match of the day.
A win was must for Tripura to retain any chances of making it to the next stage. Mizoram topped the points table in Group B with seven points. Mizoram will play Arunachal Pradesh in the other semi-final.
Earlier, both Mizoram and Manipur played aggressive football in the first half penetrating through each other’s defense line on numerous occasions.
F Lalrinpuia nearly put Mizoram into the lead in the 39th minute when his strong left footer missed the goal by a whisker. Three minutes later, Mizoram’s Lal Bia Khula, who was left unmarked, missed a golden opportunity to surge his side ahead. Crossing over, Manipur started on an impressive note, dominating ball possession. However, Mizoram nearly went into the lead against the run of play after V Lal Tanpuia’s powerful strike from 20 yards was brilliantly saved by Manipur custodian S Dinakumar.
Despite a hard contest, the match ended in a goalless draw.
Earlier, in the first match of the day, Sikkim took the lead when Tshering Zangpo Tamang found the nets in the 16th minute. Bir Bahadur Pradhan doubled the advantage in the 24th minute.
Jaladish Debbarma pulled one back for Tripura in the 35th minute while Anjel Jamatia levelled the score in the 54th minute.
