New Delhi: After 10 days of exciting knockout action involving 32 teams from India and neighbouring countries, Manipur’s TG English School (Bishnupur) emerged as champions of the 63rd U17 Subroto Cup, edging over Meghalaya’s Myngken Christian H.S. School (Ri-Bhoi) in a thrilling penalty shootout at the BR Ambedkar Stadium. Namdigong of Manipur opened the door for his side after his 32nd-minute goal, only for Banpliebok Khongjoh to come to the rescue, converting his penalty in the 64th minute and forcing the tie into a shootout merely six minutes before full-time.
The Meghalaya side entered the final as a team to be feared, having blown past 23-0 against Daman and Diu on Day 1, 5-0 against Bihar on Day 3, and winning 3-1 against CISCE in the quarter-finals before leading a 7-0 rout of Arunachal Pradesh in the semi-finals.
On first impressions, it seemed prophetic when Meghalaya looked like the more menacing team on the ball, with attacking midfielder Banpliebok and right-winger Banganson Nonglhlang, with three hat tricks in the tournament to his name, posing Manipur some major headaches. However, despite comfortably possessing more momentum and creating more chances, Meghalaya were lacking in putting those opportunities in the back of the net.
Manipur’s Under-17 team celebrating after beating Meghalaya on penalties in the 63rd U17 Junior Boys Subroto Cup final (Image via Football9)
Namdigong of Manipur opened the door for his side after his 32nd-minute goal, only for Banpliebok Khongjoh to come to the rescue, converting his penalty in the 64th minute and forcing the tie into a shootout merely six minutes before full-time.
The Meghalaya side entered the final as a team to be feared, having blown past 23-0 against Daman and Diu on Day 1, 5-0 against Bihar on Day 3, and winning 3-1 against CISCE in the quarter-finals before leading a 7-0 rout of Arunachal Pradesh in the semi-finals.
On first impressions, it seemed prophetic when Meghalaya looked like the more menacing team on the ball, with attacking midfielder Banpliebok and right-winger Banganson Nonglhlang, with three hat tricks in the tournament to his name, posing Manipur some major headaches. However, despite comfortably possessing more momentum and creating more chances, Meghalaya were lacking in putting those opportunities in the back of the net.
This is, of course, not to deny the Manipur youth their credit, for their resiliency in defence didn’t allow their opposition to land an early knockout blow. Instead, it became the platform for success in the 32nd minute, when Manipur conjured chaos in the penalty box from a throw-in and Namdigong scored a scrappy goal to send Manipur into dreamland.
Come the second half, Manipur would switch from maroon-coloured jerseys to light-blue, but the defence of their slender lead remained intense still.
Meghalaya too, as if incensed by conceding against the run of play, made sure that the Manipur defence couldn’t afford a minute’s rest. After just 16 minutes, the first crack appeared, when Heroba of Manipur was sent off for handling the ball, giving Meghalaya a chance to equalize from 12 yards.
However, fate had other plans for Alicester Thangkiew, with the penalty-taker smacking his effort into the right post, allowing Manipur keeper Ranidas to stay unpunished for diving in the wrong direction. Jaws were further left dropped when just a few minutes later, Banpliebok would launch into a searing run down the right flank and deliver a cross, only for Masharing to miss from close range.
With just 10 minutes left on the clock, substitutions were thrown on the pitch, and like a lucky roll of the dice, Meghalaya hit the jackpot. It was substitute Shylla’s shot which bounced off Nestanboy’s arm, awarding Meghalaya another penalty. Banpliebok was handed the duty to equalize, and the player of the tournament did not disappoint.
After the three whistles, the tie was to be decided via a penalty shootout for a truly dramatic finish. Like a match in itself, the momentum first swung in Manipur’s favour, with Meghalaya’s Richborn and Pynshailang failing to convert and handing Manipur a 2-0 lead. The victory was still far from sealed, as Yohenba and Manipur captain Manimatum erred and allowed Meghalaya to return to level terms.
Despite the two sides’ best efforts in prolonging the thrill, sudden death was inevitable; certainly for Meghalaya’s Wanpli, whose terrible miss ensured that Manipur took home a well-earned trophy.
The 63rd Under-17 Junior Boys Subroto Cup final saw an all-Northeast classic go down to penalty shootout. Football Sports News: Latest Cricket News, Cricket Live Score, Sports Breaking News from Sports Today
