UP remain atop Group C in Swami Vivekananda Men’s U20 NFC

Narainpur (Chhattisgarh), May 15 Manipur and Punjab won their respective matches against Uttar Pradesh and Sikkim, in Group C of the Swami Vivekananda Men’s U20 National Football Championship, at the Ramakrishna Mission Ashrama Ground, on Thursday. While Manipur defeated Uttar Pradesh 2-0, Punjab overcame Sikkim 3-2.

Manipur got their first win in Group C, defeating Uttar Pradesh 2-0 on Thursday. They scored one in each half.

Md Abash opened the scoring for Manipur in the 21st minute, when he showed good presence of mind to position himself inside the six-yard box to tap in a low cross from the left. Leishungbam Bankimchandra Singh gave Manipur some cushion in the last quarter of an hour, when he skipped past his marker on the right and sent in an attempted low cross, the trajectory of which was goalwards. The ball evaded a melee of legs and a pair of hands as it rolled in at the far post.

Manipur remain fourth in the group despite the win, having garnered three points from two matches. Uttar Pradesh, on the other hand, remain top of the group despite this defeat. They are on six points from three matches, the same as Punjab, but are ahead of the latter by dint of a better head-to-head record.

Punjab saw off a late charge by Sikkim to secure their second victory of the campaign, winning 3-2 in the second match of the day. The side from North India were 2-0 ahead at half-time.

Karan Kumar Sharma opened the scoring for Punjab when he bundled in a free-kick from the right in the 35th minute. Just seconds before the half-time whistle, Harmandeep Singh doubled Punjab’s lead with a strike from inside the box.

Choden Lepcha pulled one back for Sikkim in the 58th minute with a swerving strike from just outside the box, before Gurmeet Singh restored Punjab’s two-goal lead with a 70th-minute strike. He controlled an aerial ball on his thigh inside the Sikkim box and drilled it into the bottom corner. Tsheten Tashi Bhutiya scored a second goal for Bhutan deep in injury time, but Punjab ran away with the three points.

Punjab, with this win, move on to the second spot in the group, as they are on six points from two matches. Sikkim are third with three points from two matches.

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