Cuttack: Pyari Xaxa scored a brilliant hat-trick to help Odisha come from behind and seal the summit clash spot in the Senior Women’s National Football Championship after scraping past defending champions Tamil Nadu 4-3 in a thrilling semifinal encounter here at the Barabati Stadium, Saturday. Odisha will face Manipur in the final Monday.
Tamil Nadu took a 2-0 lead through R Sumitra (10th) and Indumathi (16th) scoring two back-to-back goals. However, Pyari who has been a consistent performer for the state in the domestic level throughout the year opened the account for the hosts with a 25th minute penalty.
Odisha didn’t take much time in equalising as last match scorer Anju Tamang netted the second six minutes later. Pyari added her second of the match in the added-on half time to guide Odisha into the break with one goal lead.
Odisha dominated in the second half as Pyari and Anju made some brilliant penetrations but failed to convert. However, much was still in store as Indumathi equalised with her second of the match for Tamil Nadu in the 77th minute to take the match into extra time.
However, the evening was well set for Pyari as she completed her hat-trick with a brilliant strike in the 110th minute to break her opposition’s hearts.
In the other semifinal match of the day, last year’s runners-up Manipur booked a final date with Odisha after defeating Railways Sports Promotion Board (RSPB) 4-3 via penalty shootout. Both the teams ended goalless in the regulation time.
In the penalty shootout, Irom Parameshwari Devi, Dangmei Grace, Wayenbam Ranjibala Devi and Elangbam Bidyarani Devi converted for Manipur while Loitongbam Ashalata Devi, Suprava Samal, Yumnam Kamala Devi found the back of the net for RSPB.
Sunshine qualify
Sunshine Club defeated SAI-STC 3-2 via tie-breaker in a match of the FAO 1st Division football league here at the Barabati Stadium, Saturday to qualify for the FAO Super Cup, starting October 2. Both the teams ended goalless in regulation time. Sunshine also qualified for the FAO Gold Cup starting next year.
Pankaj selected
Pankaj Bhue of Odisha has been selected Saturday in the 17-member Indian team for Visulally Impaired for the upcoming three-match T20 bilateral cricket series against England to be played at Bangalore, October 2-4. India will also play in the triangular series, which starts October 5 with Sri Lanka joining in as the third team apart from England. After the completion of the triangular series India will again play Sri Lanka in five T20s and three ODIs.