Chandigarh eves go down against Punjab 2-0 at national championship

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, May 5

Punjab managed to score their first points by logging a 2-0 win over Chandigarh during the final round of the 28th Senior Women’s National Football Championship at the AIFF National Centre of Excellence, Kolkata. This was Chandigarh’s third consecutive defeat in the ongoing tournament.

Two back-to-back goals from Punjab a little after the quarter-hour mark helped them beat Chandigarh. Tejibala Devi opened the scoring for Punjab, when she laced a lay-off from Nisha in the 17th minute. A minute later, Chandigarh keeper Kajal spilled a shot from a free-kick by Bandana, as Nisha was on hand to tap it in.

The Chandigarh eves tried to the best of their luck, but failed to log a comeback. In their previous matches, the local side faced went down 0-1 against Delhi and faced a 0-3 defeat from Railways.

Meanwhile, the match between Tamil Nadu and Railways remained deadlocked. It ended in a 2-2 draw. Tamil Nadu looked all set to take a three-point lead at the top of Group A, but a couple of late goals by Railways helped the latter to remain in the fight to claim the pole position.

The defending champions had a great start, as striker Sandhiya Ranganathan latched on to a rebound off a shot by Priyadharshini S, before posting a stunner from a close range in the 6th minute. It looked like Tamil Nadu had the three points all wrapped up in the 77th minute, when Sandhiya doubled their lead. However, Railways’ team got their act together and found the comeback in the 88th minute. Anju Tamang worked a short corner out wide with Kamala before sending in a cross at the far post. Defender Jabamani Tudu, who was waiting patiently, managed to jump higher and headed the ball over the goal line.

Just two minutes later, Railways capitalised on some confusion inside the Tamil Nadu box to snatch a point from the jaws of defeat. Kamala Devi’s shot was blocked by Tamil Nadu goalkeeper Sowmiya Narayanasamy. The ball fell in front of stoker Tamang, whose effort was also blocked. The resulting chance fell to Mamta, who had a clear sight of an open goal, and she posted it in. Bengal earned their second victory beating Delhi 2-0 at the Kishore Bharati Krirangan.

Haryana lads log win

Meanwhile, Haryana had to fight it out to beat Gujarat 2-1 during the Swami Vivekananda U20 Men’s National Football Championship. Haryana bagged their second straight win.

After a goalless first half, Haryana defender Pawan put his team in the lead in the 49th minute with a curling free-kick from the right side of the rival’s box that caught Gujarat goalkeeper Taksh Patel napping. Gujarat, however, found the equaliser in the 80th minute, when a defensive lapse by a Haryana defender saw opportunistic striker Manashveersingh B Khaitan tap the ball over the goal line.

Gujarat missed a golden opportunity to take the lead when they wasted a penalty awarded to them. Stenis Touthang fumbled while taking the shot and sent the ball well over the crossbar. It cost Gujarat dear. In the 90th minute, Veer Gahlaut made the most of a counter-attack to net the winner for Haryana. In the second match, Kerala put six past Andhra Pradesh.

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