New Delhi: Government Boys Higher Secondary School of Jowai were defeated by Kalyangarh Bidyamandir, West Bengal, 4-3 in a penalty shootout to set up a title clash with Greenwood School, Nagaland, in the under-14 category of the 53rd Subroto Cup football tournament here on Friday.
The second semifinal had its thrilling moments, with both teams building up attacks, but some brilliant saves from the two goalkeepers ensured the result was goalless in the stipulated 50 minutes of the match.
The deadlock continued in extra time, too, and later, in a thrilling shootout, Sana Singh and Yami Longvah missed the spot kick for the Meghalaya team.
The Bengal team managed to hold their nerve to seal a berth in the final.
In the girl’s section, Government Higher Secondary School, Nagaland, sailed into the quarterfinals from the U-17 Group III with a 4-1 victory over Government High School, Haryana, while Maharashtra’s Pravara Kanya Vidya Mandir kept alive their hopes of advancing to the last-eight with a 7-0 victory over Government Senior Secondary School, Car Nicobar.
Pravara Vidya Mandir will now face the Haryana school in a virtual knockout game in their last league encounter, with the latter team only requiring a draw to progress.
In the day’s other match, another Northeastern team, Oriental English School of Manipur, beat the girls from Afghanistan 9-0 in their second league encounter.
The girls of Raba Balkhi School in Kabul had come to India with the hope of putting up a good show but have been unable to weave any magic in either of their two games. (PTI)
