AIFF Media Team

NEW DELHI: Manipur consolidated their position at the top of Group B in the 28th Senior Women's National Football Championship for Rajmata Jijabai Trophy 2023-24; Haryana and Odisha remained in hot pursuit. While Manipur beat Maharashtra, Haryana and Odisha defeated Sikkim and Jharkhand, respectively, in Kolkata, on Monday, May 6, 2024.

The 21-time champions have won all their three matches so far in the Final Round, and sit pretty at the top of Group B with nine points, followed by Haryana and Odisha, who are on seven points apiece. Meanwhile, Maharashtra (one point), Sikkim (one point), and Jharkhand (zero points) are yet to win a match in the Final Round. The top two teams from each group will make it to the semi-finals.

Manipur maintain winning streak

Maharashtra 0
lost to
Manipur 3 (Ngangom Bala Devi 37’, Dangmei Grace 62’, Laishram Rejiya Devi 89’)

Manipur won their third match on the trot, defeating Maharashtra 3-0 at the Kishore Bharati Krirangan.

The 21-time champions took some time to get going, but once they did, Manipur produced a flowing move to shoot into the lead. A neatly-worked free-kick was played out wide on the right to Dangmei Grace, who whipped in a perfect cross for their mercurial striker Bala Devi to head it in powerfully in the 37th minute.

Grace turned scorer in the second half when she scored a goal in almost a similar fashion as Bala. The cross, this time, came from the left, from the boot of Sibani Devi, as an airborne grace headed the ball into the net. Sibani created a third goal with her movement down the left, as she hung up a cross that was headed in by Rejiya Devi at the far post, in the dying minutes.

Haryana put five past Sikkim

Haryana 5 (Neha 9’, Pooja 34’, 45’, Renu 45+1’, Rajni Bala 83’)
beat
Sikkim 0

Haryana outclassed Sikkim at the AIFF National Centre of Excellence ground, defeating them 5-0.

Neha opened the scoring early on in the 9th minute, when she made a smart run into the centre to prod a low cross by Varshika into the goal. Pooja added two more towards the latter part of the half, first tapping in a pass from Jyoti in the 34th minute, before she ran onto a rebound off a shot by Neha to score her second goal.

Renu added a fourth in the first half injury time, as Haryana went into the tunnel at the break with a commanding lead. Rajni Bala headed in a corner late in the second half, to complete the rout.

Odisha see off Jharkhand challenge

Jharkhand 0
lost to
Odisha 2 (Malati Munda 8’, Serto Lynda Kom 19’)

Odisha clocked their second victory of the Final Round, defeating Jharkhand 2-0 at the AIFF National Centre of Excellence ground.

Odisha began the match on the front foot, as Malati Munda gave them the lead in the 8th minute. Satyabati Khadia’s corner from the right caused some stir inside the Jharkhand penalty area as the ball pinned around amidst a melee of bodies. As the ball fell to her, Munda quickly pounced on the opportunity and smashed it in.

Lynda Kom doubled Odisha’s lead a little over 10 minutes later, when she received a pass from Deepa Nayak, side-stepped her marker, and curled a low shot into the bottom corner.