NE state win Women’s National Championship
Golaghat (Assam): Manipur outplayed defending champions Orissa 3-1 to clinch the 20th Women’s National Championship football title, their 17th crown overall, at the Golaghat Stadium here on Monday.
Bala Devi struck twice in the third and 55th minutes with Women’s Player of the Year Oinam Bembem Devi scoring in between in the 20th in the summit clash.
Orissa reduced the margin in the dying minutes (90+1) of the tie courtesy substitute Sakina Nesa’s close-range strike but it was too little too late for the defending champs.
Manipur last won the Championship in 2010.
“It was a good win. I am really happy to end a fairly good campaign on a high but more importantly I would like to point out that the future stars who played in Orissa colours today have a lot of potential,” an elated Bembem said after the match.
Manipur took the game by the scruff of the neck from the word go.
The red shirts, full of national team players in their ranks, were clearly the much superior side. The Orissa girls, made up mostly of Under-19 players, found life difficult against their more fancied opponents.
It took Manipur just three minutes to take the lead.
Orissa goalkeeper Sita Sharma failed to judge the flight from Bembem Devi’s cross from the right with Bala pouncing to head home from close range.
Manipur doubled their lead without much fuss. A low cross inside the area by winger Mandakini Devi saw Bembem stab home with an easy finish.
The match was 20 minutes old and Orissa – who had stormed into the finals much like their opponents – appeared to have lost the plot by then.
The second half started as the first with Manipur all over their opponents, raiding Orissa’s citadel without mercy.
Of one such move, Mandakini squared for Bala inside the area leaving the 23-year old goal-poacher with the easiest of tap-ins to notch up her brace and 32nd goal of the tournament. Bala was later adjudged Player-of-the-Tournament.
Orissa, however, showed great character to still look for the elusive goal and their doggedness paid dividends in stoppage time.
Substitute Sakina slammed home Subha Prava Rout’s through ball that sliced open the Manipur defence.
The white shirts almost scored another with their next move; Subha Prava was in the thick of things but missed a gilt-edged chance from six yards.
Congratulating Manipur for the victory, national team head coach Anadi Barua said, “Manipur had the measure of the game from the first whistle. These girls are too experienced to falter. It was a nice experience for the youngsters, I’m sure.
“It was good to see the Orissa girls fighting till the last minute. They could score one and could have added another in added time. This goes to show their spirit. It was always going to be difficult against Manipur. But they were brave and the shoulders never drooped, that’s important.”
This is the second recent triumph by a North Eastern state at the national level after the Mizoram men won the Santosh Trophy in March. (PTI)