Rajmata Jijabai Trophy: Manipur Advances to Semifinals with Dominant Victory Over Jharkhand
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Narainpur, Dec 16 (NationPress) The reigning champions, Manipur, dominated Jharkhand by scoring five goals in the second half during Group A, becoming the first team to qualify for the semifinals of the 29th Senior Women’s National Football Championship for the Rajmata Jijabai Trophy at the Ramakrishna Mission Ashrama Ground on Monday. Manipur exhibited an outstanding second-half performance, achieving a convincing 5-0 victory over Jharkhand after a scoreless first half.
Naorem Priyangka Devi opened the scoring in the 50th minute. Laishram Rejiya Devi sent a precise cross to the edge of the box, allowing Priyangka to drive the ball into the bottom-left corner. In the 70th minute, Priyangka added another goal by converting a rebound, skillfully placing it into the bottom-right corner. Earlier, in the 58th minute, Rejiya delivered an accurate cross from the right, and after a deflection from Nongmaithem Ratanbala Devi, Dangmei Grace swiftly capitalized, propelling the ball into the roof of the net.
Continuing their offensive pressure, Manipur netted their fourth goal in the 84th minute through Asem Roja Devi, who received a through ball at the top of the box, feigned a shot, and executed a perfectly timed strike.
Grace sealed Jharkhand’s fate in the 86th minute, scoring her second goal. A cross from Maibam Nandeshwori Devi down the right wing found Grace in a prime position. Observing the goalkeeper off her line, Grace cleverly tapped the ball into the net.
With this victory, Manipur secured their place with nine points from three matches, while their upcoming match against Tamil Nadu remains. In another Group A match, Odisha and Tamil Nadu ended in a 1-1 draw.
This draw benefited Odisha, who have concluded their group matches with seven points after two wins, one loss, and one draw. While Odisha ranks second behind Manipur, Tamil Nadu holds four points from three matches and needs to win their final match against Manipur by four goals to advance.
Both teams displayed moments of brilliance in attack, highlighted by superb goals from Sandhiya Ranganathan and Malati Munda. Tamil Nadu's goalkeeper Sowmiya Narayanasamy excelled with crucial saves that denied Odisha a potential winning goal.
Tamil Nadu took the lead in the 12th minute through Sandhiya Ranganathan’s remarkable skill. After collecting the ball near the box, she expertly dribbled past two Odisha defenders and placed a well-aimed shot into the bottom-left corner.
Odisha quickly equalized in the 24th minute with a well-crafted goal. Malati Munda, positioned effectively in front of the goal, received the ball from the right and calmly tapped it past Tamil Nadu goalkeeper Sowmiya Narayanasamy to level the score.
