UNCHALLENGED: Manipur eased past West Bengal to retain the senior National women’s football title at Neyveli on Sunday.
Bengal held the upper hand in the initial part of the encounter. The first 15 minutes of play saw Bengal’s Aduri Khatun’s free-kick sailing over the post and Shilpi Deb missing a couple of easy chances.
Manipur midfielders took a bit of time to settle down, but once they got into the act, things changed dramatically.
Momentum shift Bengal custodian Ranjta Khan misjudged a lobbed free-kick from Y. Kamala Devi, which sailed past her into the goal.
That effort led to a momentum shift and Manipur forwards started penetrating the rival defence more often. O. Bembem Devi almost increased the lead in the dying minutes of the first half, but her strike hit the post. After the break, Manipur women were at their brilliant best and hardly gave Bengal any chance to make a comeback. Apart from feeding the forwards with some precise passes, Manipur midfielders also blocked the opponent’s moves effectively. Bala Devi and Tababi Devi caused plenty of problems to the Bengal defenders. Both of them came agonisingly close to scoring on more than a few occasions. Any chance of Bengal getting back into the game was nipped when Tababi Devi netted in the 62nd minute.
The result: Final: Manipur 2 (Y. Kamala Devi, Tababi Devi) bt West Bengal 0.