Manipur girls enter subjunior national football

IMPHAL, Aug 28 : Manipur defeated Sikkim by 5-0 goals and entered semifinal of the 7th girls subjunior national football championship being held at Haldwani, Uttarkhand.

In their second quarter final league match, Manipur girls showcased their superb skills and talents to outclassed the Sikkim girls.
Sunila scored the only goal during first half in the 19th minute.

In the second half, Manipur girls scored at regular interval to add four more goals to register second win in the quarter final league to earn a place in the semifinal.

While Margarete and Diana scored one goal each in the 59th and 72nd minute respectively Ranjibala scored twice in the 75th and 77th minute.

Manipur will play Bihar in their last quarter final league match on August 29, but has entered the semi final by virtue of winning today’s match against Sikkim.
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AIFF to have a new general secretary

New Delhi: The All India Football Federation (AIFF), on Wednesday, initiated the process of appointing a new general secretary in place of present incumbent, Alberto Colaco.

The emergency committee of the AIFF, which met in the capital, interviewed the two shortlisted candidates — Kushal Das and Bishwajit Mitra — but is yet to finalise the appointment. While Das has worked with a sports management group and the International Cricket Council (ICC), Mitra is currently employed with a top steel company.

Colaco, who first became the AIFF honorary secretary in December, 2000 and was appointed the general secretary in 2004, will step down after the Asia Cup in January 2011.

The emergency committee also rejected a proposal from national coach Bob Houghton to take the Indian team to a west Asian nation for a preparatory camp for the Asia Cup. The committee felt the tour would be too expensive and decided to ask the coach to play friendly matches against some Asian and African nations in the capital next month.

The committee also approved the plan of staging the quarter final group league matches of the Federation Cup in four different venues. While Goa, Ludhiana, Chennai and Cuttack are the four likely venues, the federation is yet to take a decision on the venue for the semi-finals and the final.

A total of 16 teams — 14 I-League clubs and two qualifiers — will play in the Federation Cup. The qualifiers will be held in Goa and Assam.

The newly-formed AIFF XI will also take part in the prestigious knock out tournament to be completed by the first week of October. The federation has also rejected a plea by East Bengal and Pune FC not to use their contracted players from the AIFF XI.

There is good news for the juniors as the federation has managed to rope in sponsors, who will be taking the Indian under-15 to Florida, USA for one-year training in the IMG Academy. It can get a three-year extension, if the players make considerable progress.
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Manipur beat MP in national subjunior girls football

IMPHAL, Aug 20 : Manipur outclassed Madhya Pradesh in the 7th subjunior girls national football championship being held at Haldwani, Uttarkhand.

In a cluster I league match, Manipur players showed no mercy for the MP player as Manipur girls scored at regular interval to win the match in a style.

Ranjeebala and Ratanmala scored four goals each for Manipur while Margarete scored two goals. Sumila, Banty and Oshin too scored one goal each for Manipur.

Manipur will next play Punjab in the same cluster on August 23.
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5th edition of Manipur state league football kick starts

IMPHAL, Aug 19 : The 5th edition of Manipur state league football kick starts today at Mapal Kangjeibung.

Altogether 12 football club of the state are competing for the months long football league which will be played in the home and away format as applied per AIFF guidelines.

In the inaugural match, All Irengban Football Association played YWC Thambalkhong today at Mapal Kangjeibung as a home ground match for AIFA.

The match resulted in a one sided as the Thambalkhong club defeated the Irengban club by 7-1 goals.

Barjon scored two goal for the winning team while Nalajoro, Surjit, Rocky and Vandona scored one goal each. Rakesh of AIFA scored a own goal.

The lone goal for the AIFA was scored by Lalninlen Hmar in the 60th minute.

In tomorrow’s match, TRAU will meet YDO while ESU play TRUGPU.
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A bitter-sweet experience

RAAKESH NATRAJ
Mizoram's R Vanlalnidanga (left, red jercey) clear the ball against Tamilnadu's P C Riju (9) during the 64th National football championship for Santosh Trophy at Kolkata Photo: Sushanta Patronobish
The Hindu Mizoram's R Vanlalnidanga (left, red jercey) clear the ball against Tamilnadu's P C Riju (9) during the 64th National football championship for Santosh Trophy at Kolkata Photo: Sushanta Patronobish
Success narrowly eluded Tamil Nadu in this year's Santosh Trophy. But the tournament saw the coming of age of some youngsters
Over the last two years, the Tamil Nadu football team has dispelled some of the gloom that has traditionally hung over its campaigns in the Santosh Trophy. Consecutive semifinal appearances seem like more one swallow in summer, but viewed in the context of Tamil Nadu's past record (one final appearance in 1972-73 since the tournament's inception in 1941-42) and the far greater attraction that cricket holds in these parts, one begins to understand the scale and the difficulty of the accomplishment.
Tamil Nadu's run to the semifinal of the last edition booked it a place in the quarterfinal league this time around, where it was grouped with the likes of Mizoram, Delhi and host Bengal. The advantage afforded by the circumvention of the qualifying rounds was off-set by the high profile of the adversaries that awaited.

Convincing win

Tamil Nadu kicked off with a convincing win against Mizoram, with C.S. Sabeeth and R. Rajesh finding the net. The match against Delhi proved to be a little trickier and Tamil Nadu had to rely on M. Rajesh's late strike for a crucial draw, for next up were title favourites, Bengal.
The 2-1 win over the eventual champions that booked a spot in the semis was Tamil Nadu's best display in the tournament. V. Soundararajan, Coach of the Tamil Nadu team, said the win took some sting out of the subsequent loss to Punjab in the semifinal, a view that his deputy V. Robin Charles Raja agrees with.
“Coming from behind to defeat Bengal at home was very satisfying. They have a phenomenal record (30 titles and 42 final appearances) in the tournament and at times we out-classed them comfortably. The loss to Punjab was difficult to take. It could have gone either way, with Pradeep's miss coming at a crucial juncture. The match was even at that stage,” he says.
Instead Tamil Nadu ended up conceding three, two of which were due to massive defensive errors. "D. Ravanan, who had a solid tournament till then, made a big mistake. He is an I-league player and it can happen to the best. The defence just collapsed."
Several positives emerged from the bitter-sweet campaign however, including the coming-of-age of a few youngsters. R. Murugappan, a third-year engineering student from Madurai, scored in the 2-1 win over Bengal, and was generally impressive through the tournament, according to Robin.
“Nineteen-year-old Murugappan had a good tournament and he has already received offers from the likes of Air India. The left-winger played without inhibitions and in the game against Bengal, he completely out-played the opponents.”
Riju enhanced the reputation that he had made for himself in the previous edition of the Santosh Trophy, and left an anecdotal influence on the outcome of the tournament. “Riju was in good form as well. The goal against Bengal, when he rounded the keeper and slotted it home, may have won Bengal the trophy. The 'keeper was dropped and Abhra Mondal who stepped in, proceeded to shut Goa out in the penalty shoot-out in the next match (semifinal),” says Robin.
The results across two editions of the Santosh Trophy have been consistent, but what is surely a sign of progress is the far greater encumbrance that the team had to deal with in the latest campaign.
"In terms of quality, we were possibly a little worse off when compared to the team that we had for the last edition. A lot of the I-league players decided to skip the tournament and some of the I-league players were with the Indian camp in Portugal. But what we lost in terms of quality, we made up with discipline, commitment and team spirit. They bonded well as a unit and the average age of the team is 24-25.
We had nine fresh faces playing in the Santosh trophy for the first time. Except for the ones who have played in the I-league, the team was not used to playing on artificial turf. And the Nivea Radian ball took some getting used to as well. “Most of all, we had to play matches almost every alternate day. Perhaps with a day or two of rest, we might have pulled it off,” says Robin.
In what generally affirmed the spirit of the tournament shorn of its top-stars, Mizoram played out a hard-fought draw with Delhi in the penultimate game of the quarterfinal league. The possibility that Mizoram, which by then was out of the tournament, would capitulate, allowing Delhi to progress at the expense of Tamil Nadu was on a few minds, but it did not transpire.
“Against Bengal, we played the best. We were technically very good and started with an eye on the other result (Mizoram vs. Delhi). A convenient result there would have knocked us out and there was a lot of speculation. Thankfully it didn't happen and I thought ‘Football is alive'.”
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Santosh Trophy to use FIFA-approved balls

New Delhi, Aug 6 (PTI) For the first time in its 64-year-old history, Santosh Trophy will use the FIFA-approved Nivia Radian footballs in the tournament.

"Nivia Radian, is the ball approved by FIFA since 2004 and has been the official ball for top football tournaments in India for many years," a statement from the organisers said.

The ball has passed approval tests from FIFA and given the FIFA-approved mark which makes it eligible to be used in any international event held under the aegis of the world football's governing body.

Till last year, the Santosh Trophy was played with the Nivia Shining Star football.

The new ball's roundness and water absorption are tested by FIFA and certified to be honoring the standards.
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Santosh Trophy: Delhi bow out with a draw

KOLKATA: All hopes that Delhi may have nurtured of progressing to the Santosh Trophy semifinals were nipped in the bud as Mizoram held them goalless in their final Group B quarterfinal league match at the Salt Lake Stadium on Wednesday.

Mizoram were already out of contention, having lost their first two matches. Delhi finished with three points from as many draws. Bengal and Tamil Nadu thus advanced to the last four from this group, joining Goa and Punjab.

In the late match of the day, Tamil Nadu struck a late goal to shock Bengal 2-1 in their final quarterfinal league match and thereby topped Group B. In a match that saw a 25-minute stoppage early in the second half because of a power-trip, Nilendra Dewan put Bengal ahead, while VR Murugappan and PC Riju scored for the visitors to help them notch a grand win. Last year's semifinalists Tamil Nadu thus finished with seven points and will take on Punjab in the second semifinal on Friday.

Bengal, on the other hand, have the tougher assignment of facing Goa in what will be a rematch of last edition's final, which the hosts lost via tie-breaker.

Wednesday evening's clash, reduced to just a battle to identify the group winners after Delhi bowed out following a draw with Mizoram earlier in the day, kicked off at a furious pace with both sides looking to play an attacking game.

Bengal had the better of early exchanges and could have gone ahead in the fifth minute when Denson Devadas glancing header off a Snehashish Chakraborty free-kick from the left came off the upright.

It was not long before the Shabbir Ali-coached side surged ahead. Midfielder Jayanta Sen played a pass on the right channel of the box in the 16th minute, which was nicely converted by Dewan with a diagonal grounder to the far post.

Bengal's lead didn't last beyond a minute. Murugappan, receiving a long ball in the Bengal penalty area, finished off clinically with a right-footer past approaching Bengal custodian Sandip Nandy.

Bengal had the chance to regain the advantage towards the end of the first half when Gouranga Datta, following a clearance off a corner kick, crossed towards the goalmouth for an unmarked Dewan.

But the youngsters faulty receiving gave Tamil Nadu goalkeeper A Arun Pradeep enough time to avert danger. Five minutes into the second half, the stadium plunged into darkness one more time.

Though power was back within seconds, the lights took time to take full effect, thereby resulting in the stoppage.

Bengal had a golden chance to seal the match soon after resumption when Shankar Oraon was served with a fine ball inside the box by Gouranga, but the former hit the side-netting. In the 71st minute, Dewan failed to chip a long ball over the goalkeeper.

Riju made Bengal pay dearly for the misses, scoring against the run of play. He played a wall pass with substitute M Elamurugan to barge into the box before skillfully beating the onrushing Bengal goalkeeper with an outside dodge and placing it home.
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Bengal thrash Mizoram 7-1 in Santosh Trophy

KOLKATA: Bengal climbed to the lead spot in their group with a magnificent 7-1 win over a helpless Mizoram in the quarterfinal league of the 64th National Football Championship for Santosh Trophy at floodlit Yuba Bharati Krirangan on Monday.

Shankar Oraon (8th and 55th minutes) and Gouranga Dutta (28th and 38th minutes) struck twice each, while Tariff Ahmed (44th), Jayanta Sen (83rd) and substitute Nilender Dewan (90th) contributed once each to show the exit door to Mizoram.

The North East side struck the only goal through F Lalmuanpuia in the 67th minute as they picked their second consecutive loss in group B.

In the first group B league match of the day, Tamil Nadu scored through M Ramesh in the dying minutes to hold Delhi 1-1.

Following a goalless first-half, Delhi went ahead in the 81st minute with substitute David Ngaihte scoring the goal.

But Delhi looked complacent and their defence fragile, as they failed to retain their lead as Tamil Nadu took seven minutes to equalise.

In group B, Bengal replaced Tamil Nadu on the lead with goal difference with both teams on four points each.

Delhi slipped to third spot, while Mizoram are yet to open the account to see themselves out of the competition.

Toying with Mizoram's defence, Bengal took an early lead when the forward duo of Tariff Ahmed and Shankar Oraon combined well to open the account for the hosts.

Mizoram defender Zaidinmawia Hmar failed to clear the ball as Oraon utilised Ahmed's cross from the left to find the target without any fuss.

Bengal could have easily made it 3-0 as they missed a couple of easy sitters midway into the first-half, even as Mizoram's defence was nowhere to be seen.

But soon the floodgates opened for Bengal with Gouranga, scoring two back to back goals to put Bengal right on top.

In a 28th minute move, Snehasish's beautiful centre was capitalised by Gouranga who head it home to make it 2-0.

Mizoram's miseries compounded with Gouranga again finding the back of the net 10 minutes later.

Ahmed looked to utilise an Oraon centre but his miss gave Gouranga an opportunity to earn his brace as he converted with equal ease.

Down 0-3, Mizoram scurried for covers with Bengal piling on their goal glut.

A comedy of errors by Mizoram's defenders in the 44th minute saw Bengal take a commanding 4-0 lead.

Ahmed finally put his name on the scoresheet when he scored from a folly by Mizoram defender Hmar.

There was no respite for Mizoram after the changeover as Oraon struck easily in the 55th minute with the opponent's goalkeeper Danny Lalrohlua out of place to make it a five-star show.

To make matters worse, Mizoram were reduced to 10-man in the 75th minute when referee A Arjunan sent marching orders to Lalrinfela after a rough tackle with Bengal defenders.

Bengal struck the sixth goal when Sen tackled Mizoram's defence to score beautifully in the 83rd.

Brought in place of Ahmed in the 63rd minute, Dewan struck their seventh goal with a brilliant tackle in front of the goalmouth in the 90th minute.

In between, Mizoram scored a consolation goal through F Lamuanpuia in the 67th.

Earlier, the capital boys had a similar fate in their first group B league match against hosts Bengal who struck late in the second half to deny Delhi three points.

Having beaten Mizoram 2-0 in their first outing, Tamil Nadu looked to score in the 23rd minute when P C Riju's shot was saved by Delhi goalkeeper Pronoy Roy.

Tamil Nadu had another chance to go up two minutes later but T H Pathiban hit the horizontal crosspiece as both teams took a cautious approach to see a goalless first-half.

After the changeover, Delhi came close to scoring in the 57th when Mohender Singh's right footer from inside the box was saved by Tamil Nadu goalkeeper A Arun Pradeep.

Ngaihte was brought in place of Mohinder in the 71st minute as he went on to give Delhi the lead 10 minutes after his substitution.

Following a shot pass from the right, Ngaihte beat an off-side trap to give Delhi the lead.

But Delhi -- like in their last match against Bengal -- failed to retain the lead with Tamil Nadu stepping on the gas towards the later half.

Ramesh, who was brought in place of C S Sabeeth in the 70th minute, scored with a curling right-footer to deny Delhi three points as both the teams settle for one each.

The winners and runners-up of the group will battle it out with the top two teams from group A in the knockout semifinals to be held on August 6.
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