Football Fans Manipur

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.

IMPHAL, April 26 : Sagolband United (SU) reached the final of the 11th Loktak Trophy 2019 beating NISA 4-2 today in the first semi-final of the tournament organised by All Moirang Football Association under the sponsorship of Loktak Power Station at Moirang Multipurpose Ground.

Goals by Dangmei Gaipuilan, Bright Middleton and W Angousana helped SU seal a comfortable 4-2 win against NISA Thangmeiband after the latter team took an early 1-0 lead.

NISA broke the deadlock early in the 9th minute through Roger but Dangmei Gaipuilan pulled level in the 21st minute before star of the day Bright Middleton clinched the lead during the additional time of the first half.

The SU onslaught continued after the break and Bright Middleton rose again for his second goal in the 54th minute to help his team take a 2 goal lead. NISA which were struggling under SU attack for a better portion of the game came out of the misery as Rojen pulled back a goal in the 70th minute but could not make the most of the ball in the latter part hindering them from levelling the score. SU which did well to deny NISA revival sprang up again in the last few minutes of the game and it was W Angousana who rounded off the scoring in the fourth minute of stoppage time (80+4) to finish the game 4-2.

IMPHAL, April 22: Subash’s double guided NEROCA to a 3-2 victory over NISA in the fifth match of the 11th Loktak Trophy on Monday.

It was an action-packed first half that saw all goals from either side being scored in a matter of 38 minutes.

Subash gave NEROCA an early lead when he was on target only three minutes into regulation and NISA responded in the 16th minute through Doya.

NEROCA roared back into action as they stamped their authority with a quick double with Subash scoring his second goal in the 27th minute and Denechandra further extending the lead in a span of one minute.

NISA fought hard and managed to reduce the deficit in the 38th minute courtesy of Roger but the team failed to improve in the remaining minutes of a stiff goalless contest that eventually went in favour of NEROCA who fended off their dogged opponents with their 3-2 advantage intact.

NEROCA next play KPFC on Wednesday, April 24.