AIFF Media Team

NEEMUCH, MADHYA PRADESH: Hosts Madhya Pradesh powered their way into the Sub-Junior Girls' National Football Championship 2024-25 Tier 2 final after beating Andhra Pradesh 5-1 in the first semi-final in Neemuch on Saturday, September 14, 2024.

Ambika Dhurwey (13') and Neelam Pusam (15') gave Madhya Pradesh the perfect start before Gundigi Jyoshnavi (23') reduced the deficit for Andhra Pradesh. But Manvi (31') restored the two-goal advantage for the hosts soon. In the second half, Manvi (68') and Neelam (78') added two more to complete the rout for Madhya Pradesh and qualify for the final.

Kerala will face Odisha in the second semi-final on Sunday, September 15.

Flying starts for West Bengal & Manipur in Sub-Jr Boys' NFC Tier 1

BENGALURU, KARNATAKA: West Bengal and Manipur kicked off their Group D and B campaigns, respectively, at the Sub-Junior Boys' National Football Championship Tier 1 with comfortable wins in Bengaluru on Saturday.

West Bengal beat Uttar Pradesh 12-0, led by substitute Chand Khatrapal's five goals (48', 55', 70', 83', 88') and Anshu Rai's four (13', 57', 74', 79'). Surya Biswas (26'), Ayan Karan (35') and Aniket Swar (42') chipped in with a goal each.

In the other Group D match, Maharashtra nicked a 1-0 win over Goa, with captain Om Mangesh Shinde scoring the late winner (90+4').

Manipur were 4-1 winners against Kerala. They made a quickfire start, racing to a 3-0 lead in the first 16 minutes thanks to goals from Laishram Mahesh Singh (5', 16') and Khutheipham Muktar Rehman (10'). Kerala pulled one back in the 47th minute before Mahesh completed his hat-trick in the 66th minute to wrap up the points for Manipur.

In the second Group B match, Gujarat struck once in each half to beat Jharkhand 2-0. Aryaman Kedia (16') and captain Chandraveersinh Barad (60') got the goals for the winners.

Himachal Pradesh confirm semi-final spot in Sub-Junior Boys' NFC Tier 2

JORHAT, ASSAM: Himachal Pradesh reached the semi-final of the Sub-Junior Boys' National Football Championship Tier 2 after beating Andhra Pradesh 4-1 in Jorhat on Saturday.

After the withdrawal of Meghalaya and Arunachal Pradesh, Group D was left with only Himachal Pradesh and Andhra Pradesh. The two teams faced each other twice. Himachal Pradesh won the first meeting 11-0 on Thursday. Saturday saw a closer affair, where Andhra Pradesh took a surprise lead via Damodar Gutam (13'). But Himachal Pradesh staged a comeback as Devan Rajpoot (35'), Harshit Jaswal (51', 87') and Partivan Bhalgaria (66') found the net.

Meanwhile, Haryana put one foot in the semi-finals after a 5-0 drubbing of Tripura. The northerners are now top of the table with six point and only require a point against Chandigarh on Monday to qualify.

Lakshit Kamboj (13') opened the scoring for Haryana before Rajveer Kapoor (18', 22', 35') scored a hat-trick. Substitute Chirag Goswami (77') scored the fifth and final goal.

Chandigarh edged past Andaman & Nicobar 4-3 in a high-scoring thriller. Chandigarh scored twice in the opening 10 minutes through Divyug Sandhu (2') and Arush Verma (10'). Arius Dadiburjor halved the deficit in the 14th minute before Arush scored again in the 28th. However, Andaman & Nicobar struck twice in three minutes to make it 3-3 at half-time, with Ranveer Tigga (39') and Dadiburjor (42') finding the net. Chandigarh eventually scored the winning goal thanks to Viraaj Singh Sidhu (61').

Sunday, September 15, 2024 fixtures —

Sub-Junior Girls’ NFC 2024-25
Tier 2, Neemuch, Madhya Pradesh
Semi-Final: Kerala vs Odisha (6 pm)

Sub-Junior Boys’ NFC 2024-25

Tier 2, Jorhat, Assam
Group A: Assam vs Lakshadweep (8 am), Tamil Nadu vs Telangana (8 am)
Group C: Pondicherry vs Jammu & Kashmir (3 pm), Rajasthan vs Uttarakhand (3 pm)