By Our Reporter
SHILLONG: In a thrilling match befitting a final, Manipur claimed their third trophy in the Dr T Ao Memorial Football Tournament by defeating defending champions Mizoram 4-3 in a penalty shootout at the JN Stadium, Polo, on Thursday.
The final went the distance after full time and 30 minutes of extra time ended with the scores level at 1-1.
Despite the fact that the hosts were not in action, the summit clash was well attended by a mass of fans to cap off a tournament that was a terrific success for Meghalaya and the North-East as a whole.
Both teams won corners within three minutes of the start of the match, but neither could make use of the set plays.
Seven minutes in, a long throw-in almost saw Manipur put the ball into the Mizoram net, but for some fast reactions by the keeper J Vanlalhriata.
Two minutes later, Manipur’s Kh Naoton crossed the ball beautifully after receiving a pass deep on the right flank, but couldn’t quite find a team mate in the box.
Manipur had the most of the early chances, but they found themselves continually stifled by some determined defence.
Frenetic play by the two teams in the Mizoram box on 16 minutes saw the ball enter the net, but the referee’s assistant was quick to call the would be goal scorer, M Deepak, offside.
Mizoram had the exact same thing happen to them in the 23rd minute with Lalbiakhula the guilty one on this occasion.
Lalnunmawia, bursting through the Manipur line of defenders, had a fantastic shot from just right of centre in the box, but his shot was brilliantly stopped by S Dinakumar, who had to dive to his left and collect the ball as there was another Mizoram player ready if there had been a rebound.
Despite the lack of goals, there was never a dull moment and Manipur had another chance in the 27th minute when Deepak’s shot was blocked, but Kh Sanjoy headed the rebound, which looked to be going in until Vanlalhriata tipped it onto the crossbar and it stayed out.
Mizoram finally broke the deadlock in the 39th minute, against the run of play as Manipur had dominated proceedings, when a chip from the right flank found F Lalrinpuia free on the left unmarked and he shot the ball in the goal with the keeper caught unawares.
There was further action in the remaining minutes of the first half, but neither side could score.
Good attacking play by Manipur after the change of ends saw them press on the Mizoram goal in the 55th and 56th minutes, but solid defending from the leaders saw them maintain their slender advantage.
Manipur then earned a free kick deep on the left flank, but Mizoram’s defenders were having none of it, getting the ball out of their half and the strikers broke forward but couldn’t make their attack stick.
After being the team with most of the possession in the second session, Manipur equalised to lift the match to new heights in the 76th minute.
From outside the box, L Gogocha fired in a shot that beat the diving keeper to make it 1-1.
The two sides fought on with neither able to take the lead. As the minutes ticked away, a goal would have almost surely been the winner.
However, despite a couple of chances for each team, full time ended 1-1 and the match entered 30 minutes of extra time, keeping the large crowd in their seats.
While some of the teams in the tournament had seemed sluggish over the full 90 minutes, both finalists displayed a high level of fitness as they continued strongly in extra time without seeming to be tired.
Gogocha made the best play for Manipur in the 13th minute of extra time by racing up the right flank.
Twisting around a defender, he ran into the box but lost his footing and the ball as well.
Neither side could score and it looked more and more likely that the game would be taken into a penalty shootout.
As the clock approached 120 minutes, both sides appeared to be tiring, with mistakes creeping into their game, but they had to recover enough for the tiebreaker.
The penalties started out without drama, with the defending champions starting off. But then the Mizoram skipper, V Lalthanpuia missed one and he was soon followed by substitute Lalchhuantlinga, which sent the Manipur players rushing forward on the field in celebration.
Mizoram’s fans were understandably disappointed, but they gave their players a round of applause in appreciation of their efforts.
At the presentation ceremony, where Meghalaya Sports Minster Zenith Sangma was the chief guest, Meghalaya’s Niwan O Gatphoh was announced as the top goal scorer in the tournament, with Arunachal Pradesh’s Tadu Taka claiming the best goalkeeper award.
T Ajit Singh, of Manipur, was named Player-of-the-Tournament and his team took away Rs 7 lakh in prize money, but along with that, they will also carry the badge of being the best team in the North-East.