Santosh Trophy 2023-24Manipur held to 1-1 draw by Railways

By Our Staff Reporter
IMPHAL, Feb 22 : Manipur kicked off their campaign in the final round (Group B) of the 77th National Football Championship for Santosh Trophy with a 1-1 draw with Railway Sports Promotion Board this afternoon.
Manipur, who swept the preliminary round campaign of the prestigious football tournament unbeaten, dominated the proceedings right from the beginning but were unlucky as goals remained elusive despite creating a number of chances at Golden Jubilee Stadium, Yupia (Arunachal Pradesh).
After settling the first half in a goalless draw, relentless Manipur went ahead with Phijam Sanathoi volleying home the ball in the 56th minute by connecting a beautiful lofted cross dropped into the box by Samson.
Manipur kept dominating the possession and tested Railway custodian Raja on multiple occasions but they failed to earn the buffer goal despite Sadananda earning a penalty in the 74th minute as Ngangbam Pacha missed the target.
And when the game almost looked to end with the only goal, struggling Railways found their reason to celebrate as Akash Babu scored deep into the last minute of the 5 minute added time to pull level.  
It was Rajesh who fancied his chance with a header but it struck the bar before Akash Babu who was lurking around acted quickly to tap in the rebounded ball from point blank range.
Manipur will play Maharashtra in the next match on February 24 at Golden Jubilee Stadium. The match starts at 2.30 pm.