Kohima | November 29 : Mizoram Youth Team came from a goal down and forced the second semi-final match of the Royal cup to be decided by penalty shootout. They subsequently won the match by four goals to three (4:3) and will face TT FC Aizawl in the finals on Thursday, 1st of December.
The first half of the match started with both teams making a cautious approach. Neither teams committed themselves in the first ten minutes of play. Peren slowly gained the upper hand in midfield and started to enjoy the greater percentage of ball possession and constructed some good combination play in midfield. They eventually scored the opening goal in the 15th minute when Asian (12) found himself in the right place and easily slotted the ball into the net to give his team the lead. Peren continued to play well and controlled the flow of the game. But in the 27th minute, kizeteilung (4) failed to clear the ball on the edge of his penalty area and allowed Lalchhuanawma (14) to take a shot at goal and forced the keeper of Peren to make a good save.
This effort encouraged the Mizo team to press for an equalizer and they started to create some chances of their own. They came very close on the 35th minute when Lalnghinglova (17) made a very good attempt from the right, but he only managed to hit the post.
The second half was almost a repeat of the first as the teams shared an equal share of the ball. Then on the 55th minute, the referee awarded a controversial free kick to Mizoram. Lalnghinglova (17) stepped up and curled the ball into the net and levelled the score. The second half ended with the teams tied with one goal each.
The thirty minutes of extra time again produced a similar performance. Both teams tried to find a way to score the winning goal and constructed some good build-up play, but they failed to deliver the final touch. The match eventually had to be decided by a penalty shootout in the end.
Keneisedelie (8) of Peren stepped up and easily converted the first penalty shot for his team. Then Lalchhuanawma (14) of Aizawl converted the first shot for his team and levelled the score. But the second shot for Peren, which was taken by Asian (12) was saved by the Aizawl keeper. Ramengmawia (10) then converted the second shot for Aizawl and put his team ahead. Khuanjang (6) then stepped up and converted the third shot for PDFA and kept his team alive. But Lalnghinglova (17) regained the lead for Aizawl when he beat the keeper and scored the third goal. Lemrai (16) of Peren had the opportunity to level the score once again, but his shot was saved by Vanlalfela. Then Peisuidibe (1), the keeper of Peren saved the fourth shot for Mizoram, taken by Ramfangzuava (5) and kept his team a lifeline. It was up to Tongpang (17) to keep his team in the hunt by converting the fifth and last shot for Peren, and he easily did that by scoring the third goal and levelled the score. But unfortunately for Peren, Mizoram still had one remaining shot, and that was duly dispatched by the captain Lalrinchhana (11) and Mizoram came out victorious.
ROYAL CUP
2nd Semi-final
Result:
Peren Dist. Sports Assn – 3
Mizoram Youth Team – 4
Final Match
Thursday, 1st December
TT FC Aizawl
Vs
Mizoram Youth Team
Time: 1:00 pm
