Santosh Trophy : Ragui stars as Manipur stage comeback to crush Delhi 5-2, move into semis

By Our Staff Reporter
IMPHAL, Dec 26 : Shunjanthan Ragui netted twice and set up one as Manipur stage second half comeback to prevail 5-2 over Delhi in the second quarter final clash of the 78th National Football Championship for Santosh Trophy tonight at Deccan Arena, Hyderabad.
Against the run of play, Delhi took a slender 1-0 first half lead courtesy of a header by Jaideep Singh in the 9th minute. Manipur fought hard to reduce the margin by stringing a series of runs but could not make the most of their chances.
Manipur started the second half with a bang as Lowly flicked in a deflection from a corner kick to draw level  in the 49th minute before Sagar overturned the lead in the next minute with a curler from outside the right edge of the box.
Delhi also fought back and converted a penalty through Jaideep Singh to make their way back into the game after 65 minutes. Manipur, however did not lose hope and pressed hard to retain their lead in the remainder of the normal time but Delhi defence were up to the mark to deny any chances.
After settling the first 90 minutes in a 2-2 draw, Manipur found the difference 7 minutes into the extra time through S Ragui, who pulled off a fine volley from inside the box before converting a penalty three minutes into the added time of the opening extra time (105+4') and make it 4-2.
The second minute of the second half of the extra time saw Jahir Khan heading home to give Manipur a three goal cushion by connecting a fine cross from S Ragui. Delhi tried hard to cut the deficit while Manipur kept pressing for more goals in the latter part of the game but the scoreline remained unchanged till the final whistle.