Manipur, TN set up final clash

Manipur defeated Railways 2- 1 to book a summit clash with Tamil Nadu in the 23rd senior women’s national football championship in Cuttack on Monday.

Star striker Bala Devi struck twice ( 13th and 85th minutes) for Manipur while Kamala Devi ( 14th) scored the lone goal for Railways in a spirited semifinal at the Barabati Stadium.

In the earlier semi- final, Tamil Nadu outplayed West Bengal 4- 1. The final will be played on Wednesday.

Manipur drew first blood when Railways keeper Samal failed to latch on to Bala’s powerful shot in the 13th minute.

But even before the celebrations could die down on the Manipur bench, Railways hit back with Kamala Devi making an exceptional run into the box for an equaliser in the 14th minute.

The second half saw both teams looking for the matchwinner but a disciplined display at the back by both blunted each other’s intentions.

Prameshwori came close but her shot went over the bar while Kamala’s shot was well judged by Panthoi at the other end as the teams matched each other at every turn.

Just as it seemed that the game was headed towards extra- time, Railways’ resistance was broken when Bala Devi poked it in from a goalmouth melee in the 85th minute, her goal turning out to be the winner.