Manipur girls clinch title
The victorious Oriental English School team from Manipur with the girls U-17 trophy of the Subroto Cup in New Delhi on Thursday.
A tactically superior Oriental English School of Manipur got the better of Government Mizo High School by a solitary goal in the final of the inaugural girls Under-17 meet of the all India Subroto Cup football trophy in the capital on Thursday.
The Manipur girls began the title clash as underdogs against the free scoring Mizo team led by striker Offee Lalmingahualpuia, who had scored 14 goals in the five games coming into the final.
However Offee was marked brilliantly by the opposition and hardly allowed any space to manoeuvre in the Oriental English half.
The plan by the Manipur girls to play an ovewhemingly defensive game took the Mizoram school by surprise as they failed to get past their rivals’ stoic defence.
The Mizo girls failed to create chances and they did not seem to have a plan to counter their opponents’ strategy.
The only goal of the match came in the 36th minute when M.K. Kashmina headed home from a free kick. After the goal, Oriental English School fortified their half and played out the remaining time to emerge champions. Coach R.K. Amusana gave full credit to the team for the success and said that they executed plans brilliantly.
“We had specific plans for our games. We had studied the opponents and had ensured that Offee was marked well. Our players did a good job in executing the plan and that is the reason for our success,” said Amusana, who was also named the best coach of the tournament.
The final’s hero, Kashmina — who has represented India at the U-13 level — said she was overwhelmed that she could provide the team a reason to celebrate. “We missed quite a few opportunities. But finally I could be the reason for the win and it feels good,” she said.
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