Manipur rises to the top of Group B, as Railways and Mizoram also record victories

ITANAGAR: On Monday, February 26, 2024, at the Golden Jubilee Stadium in Itanagar, Manipur defeated the reigning champions Karnataka 1-0 to go up to the top of Group B in the Santosh Trophy 2024 Final Round.

With three games played, the Northeast team has accumulated seven points, leading them by three points at the top of Group B. In the 50th minute, Ngangbam Pacha Singh scored the game’s lone goal from the penalty spot.

Karnataka tried to work the ball out wide and create an overload in the box for the crosses, even though Manipur had more ball control. When Kabiraj Singh chipped a through ball to veteran Singam Subash Singh, who slid the ball past the Karnataka goalie to put it in the net, the former team believed they had grabbed the lead in the 21st minute. Nevertheless, replays revealed that he was ahead of the Manipur defenders by a shoulder when the assistant referee called him offside.

Just before the interval, Godwin Johnson put in a cross from the right to an unmarked Vishal R inside the box, giving Karnataka their finest opportunity. The midfielder struck a hard header from within the six-yard box, but Manipur goalkeeper Siddharth Rana made a quick diving stop.

The referee pointed to the spot after Johnson, who had been on the verge of delivering the assist, was judged to have delivered a high boot within his own box, making him the villain for Karnataka. Manipur took the lead after Ngangbam Pacha Singh correctly placed the ball to the keeper’s right.

Karnataka put on a late charge, their intensity in the game growing with each minute, but it exposed huge gaps in their defence, giving Manipur several counter-attack opportunities. The greatest of them may have occurred during injury time when Philam Sanathoi Singh just needed to touch in a cross that Leimajam Sangkar Singh had placed on a plate from deep inside the Karnataka penalty box. But Manoj Swamy Kannan, the captain of Karnataka, hunted Sanathoi down and entered the game in the last seconds to stop the attempt.

Because they are now at the bottom of Group B with just two points from three games, the reigning champions’ hopes of making it to the quarterfinals are severely damaged by this outcome. Even though Railways and Maharashtra, who are fighting for qualifying themselves, would present tough challenges in their last two games, a victory would quickly put them back on track.
With a narrow 2-1 victory against Maharashtra, Railways—who started the day at the bottom of Group B—managed to put themselves back in the running for knockout qualifying.

Before Nikhil Kadan, the captain of Maharashtra, tied the score shortly before halftime, Subrata Murmu gave Railways the lead in the eleventh minute. But in the 73rd, Rajesh scored the game-winning goal for Railways with a brilliant looping header at the near post. Following this victory, Railways now have four points from three games, while Maharashtra still has three points from the same number of games.