Chandigarh eves go down against Punjab in football

Chandigarh, May 5

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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.