Neithovilie wins it for team

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Subroto Cup Under-14 boys final between Greenwood Higher Secondary School, Nagaland, and West Bengal’s Kalyangarh Bidyamandir in

Nagaland’s Greenwood Higher Secondary School goalkeeper Neithovilie did the star turn, as the North-eastern team defeated Kalyangarh Bidyamandir of West Bengal 3-1 on penalties in the final of the Under-14 boys title in the 53rd Subroto Cup football tournament in the capital on Monday.

Runners-up in the last edition, the school from Nagaland played with 10 players throughout the tournament since others failed to pass the requisite medical test. The team rode on Neithovilie’s heroics, who excelled in regulation and extra time keeping the Kalyangarh strikers at bay. He then shone during the penalty shootout, stopping spot kicks by Sanjib Bhowmick, Sourav Biswas and Prokash Sarkar.
The team last won the title in 2008.
“It was a fabulous opportunity and I learnt a lot from this experience,” said Neithovilie, who was named the goalkeeper of the tournament.
Earlier, both teams began at a brisk pace and Kalyangarh took the first crack at goal in the third minute. However, Neithovilie stood firm to block the long ranger. The teams continued to attack but failed to find a breakthrough in regulation time.
This was also the first time that the Nagaland team failed to score in regulation time, having pumped in 22 goals in the three league matches and three more in the knockout stage while conceding just one.
In the shootout, Kalyangarh looked favourites since they had handled a similar situation during the semis too. However, that was not the case as the three players seemed to succumb to pressure and played into the hands of the goalkeeper.
Nagaland team coach Mughato Sumi said the team had worked very hard after the disappointment of losing the final last year. “The introduction of the Nagaland Premier League has given huge impetus to football in the state. Parents have become more open to send their children for football,” he said, adding the team’s next goal was to improve and also win the U-17 tournament.
The All India Football Federation scouts shortlisted 25 boys for one time scholarship of Rs 10,000 and 15 from the same pool will be adopted by the Subroto Mukherjee Sports Education Society for further training.