Guwahati: Manipur’s T.G English School clinched the junior boys title of the ‘63rd Subroto Cup International Football Tournament’ getting the better of Meghalaya’s Myngken Christian Higher Secondary School 4-3 via sudden death tie-breaker after both the teams tied 1-1 in regulation time.
Namdigong had put the winning side ahead in the 32nd minute of the first half, only for Banpliebok Khongjoh to equalise from the spot in the 64th minute of the game, just six minutes from the final whistle.
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Meghalaya goalkeeper Wanpli Malang then dragged their first sudden-death spot-kick wide of goal to give a Manipur side the coveted title after 43 years.
The winning side to their credit also played almost 20 minutes of the second-half with 10-men.
Chief of the Air Staff, Air Chief Marshal VR Chaudhari, who was the chief guest, presented the trophy to the winners.
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Speaking during the prize distribution ceremony, Air Chief Marshal Chaudhari saidthat the tournament has once again proved to be an incredible platform to nurture young football talent.
“It has been a truly remarkable journey as we conclude the 63rd edition of the Subroto Cup. This tournament has once again proven to be an incredible platform for nurturing young football talent,” he said.
“We have witnessed the emergence of several promising athletes this year, and I have no doubt that some of them will go on to represent India at the highest levels,” he added.
The air staff chief further said the tournament in 2025 would be even bigger and better, and the process will continue to elevate the standards of grassroots football in India.
The Meghalaya school dominated almost the entire game starting from the very first minute and certainly looked the more organised and creative side. However, they lacked finishing and the Manipur boys defended resolutely to eke out a result for themselves.
Meghalaya were driven in attack mostly by their creative central midfielder Banpliebok, who was declared player of the tournament, and their right winger Banganson Nonglhlang, who has had three hat-tricks in the tournament.
After Meghalaya had wasted a host of chances, it was Manipur who took the lead against the run of play when Namdigong stabbed home from a goalmouth melee, after a long throw from the left-flank reached the six-yard box.
Manipur then took the field in the second half with a change of jersey colour from maroon to light blue, as well as solid intentions of protecting their lead.
Meghalaya were still the more enterprising and got a first penalty in the 16th minute of the half, but Alicester Thangkiew hit the right upright after making goalkeeper Ranidas dive the wrong way.
This was after Manipur’s Heroba was shown the red card for handling the ball before it trickled into the goal of a back head.
Minutes later Masharing missed a sitter to equalise after Banpliebok had delivered one of his telling crosses with yet another penetrating run down the right.
Both the coaches rang in changes and with just inside 10 minutes to go for the final whistle, it was the substitute Shylla’s shot which struck Nestanboy’s arm and Meghalaya got a second penalty in the game.
This time, Banpliebok, arguably their best player on the day, converted calmly.
The game went into penalties as both sides remained tied after 70 minutes. While Alex and Namdigogn converted for Manipur, Richborn and Pynshailang missed for Meghalaya.
But there was drama as Yohenba and skipper Manimatum missed the next two for Manipur even as Banpliebok and Masharing brought Meghalaya back on even terms.
As both Goutam and Bipiush converted the fifth kicks for Manipur and Meghalaya respectively, it was sudden death time, where Phonis converted confidently for Manipur as Wanpli missed his target by quite a distance.
The winners received Rs 5,00,000 while the runner up received Rs 3,00,000. The losing semi-finalists received Rs 75,000 each while the losing quarterfinalist teams received Rs 40,000 each.