IMPHAL, April 27: Biaklian Paite netted a double to steer NEROCA to a 2-1 win over SSU in their semifinal encounter in the 11th Loktak Trophy at Moirang Multi-Purpose Ground on Saturday.

With the result, NEROCA are now only one win away from claiming record three titles this month.

The 61st CC Meet and the 12th Manipur State League champions didn’t have it easy in the first half that saw NEROCA fall behind before they turned things around after the break, thanks to Biaklian.

In the first few minutes, both the teams were unable to create clear-cut chances and the back-and-forth exchanges failed to yield results for the entire 45 minutes until SSU finally broke the deadlock just before the halftime whistle and went into the second half with a 1-0 advantage.

Just when it appeared the teams were heading for a barren first period, N Sanju worked his way through to send the ball into NEROCA’s net, sparking a loud celebration from the SSU supporters.
In the second half, NEROCA were in action mode right off, picked up the
pace and were dominant up front with waves of attacks that paid off.

Biaklian put his team on equal terms in the 69th minute and then he struck in his second goal in a span of 10 minutes that eventually proved to the winner.
NEROCA will be up against Sangolband United (SU) in the final on April 30.