Santosh Trophy 2024: Manipur tops Group B, Mizoram and Railways win

Itanagar (Arunachal Pradesh) (Uttam Hindu News): Former winners Manipur defeated defending champions Karnataka 1-0 to top Group B in the final round of the National Football Championship for Santosh Trophy 2024 at the Golden Jubilee Stadium here on Monday.

The North-East team has now collected seven points from its three matches and is leading Group B by three points. The only goal of the match was scored by Ngangbam Pacha Singh from the penalty spot in the 50th minute. While Manipur kept more of the ball possession, Karnataka tried to get the ball out wide and create overloads in the box for crosses.

However, the former player thought he had taken the lead in the 21st minute when Kabiraj Singh passed a ball to veteran campaigner Singam Subhash Singh, who slipped the ball past the Karnataka keeper and into the net. The assistant referee ruled him offside; Replays showed that he was a shoulder ahead of the Manipur defence. Karnataka had their best chance just before the half-time break when Godwin Johnson sent a cross from the right to an unmarked Vast R inside the box.

The midfielder lofted a powerful header from inside the six-yard box, but it fell close to Manipur custodian Siddharth Rana, who made a reflex diving save. Johnson made a high-boot tackle inside his own box, as pointed out by the referee. Ngangbam Pacha Singh gave Manipur the lead by putting the ball to the right of the keeper. Karnataka took a late lead, the urgency in their play increasing by the minute, but this left gaps in their defence, allowing Manipur few chances on the counter.

Philam Sanathoi Singh received a cross from Limajam Sangkar Singh on a platter and all he had to do was tap it in from inside the Karnataka penalty box. However, Karnataka captain Manoj Swamy Kannan tracked down Sanathoi and put his foot in to block the shot at the last minute. This has seriously damaged the defending champions’ chances of qualifying for the quarter-finals. They remain at the bottom of Group B with just two points from three matches. While they will have to work hard in their last two matches against Railways and Maharashtra, who are in their fight for qualification, a win will put them back on the right track.

Mizoram’s big victory against Delhi

Mizoram put in an almost flawless performance against Delhi in their third Santosh Trophy match on Monday, winning 5-1. MC Malsavamzuala and Malsavamzuala Tlangte scored two goals each in the first half, before MS Dawangliana scored a goal in the second half, taking the score to five for them. Mohit Mittal scored a goal for Delhi in the injury time of the second half, but the damage was already done. In this way, Mizoram has equalized with Delhi, both have four points from three matches.

Railways overtook Maharashtra

Railways, who finished bottom of Group B, started the day with a narrow 2-1 win against Maharashtra and managed to bring themselves back into the race for knockout qualification. Subrata Murmu gave Railways the lead in the 11th minute, before Maharashtra captain Nikhil Kadan equalized a few minutes before the half-time break. However, Rajesh produced a brilliantly glanced header at the near post to score the winner for Railways in the 73rd minute. After this win, Railways also has four points from three matches, while Maharashtra remains on three points from the same number of matches.