Our Correspondent
KOHIMA, SEPTEMBER 16
Defending champions Barak Football Club, Peren, eased into the next round of the 16th edition of the Naga Students’ Federation (NSF) Martyrs Memorial Trophy which kicked off today at Khuochiezie Local Ground, Kohima.
Playing in front of a big crowd, Barak FC, who were also the champions of the first Nagaland Premier League, hammered their opponents Boys United FC of Chiechama by 6-0.
The Boys United FC, with a young and inexperience line up, were no match for the defending champions who to their favour have a formidable line up with some of the most skilled soccer players in the State.
Barak FC took the lead in the fifth minute when their striker Salu Kulim scored a volley in the D-box area only to surprise the custodian of Boys United, Rüduovilie Loucü.
Barak found the net again in the 15th minute from the boots of another striker Nzauhutbo Nbung. The next 20 minutes of the first half saw a rejuvenated Boys United who fought back to equalize the match, but ended with no fruitful result.
Entering the second half, Boys United’s attempt to fight back was overpowered by the skills and tactics of their opponents who remained calm and steady taking control of the game till the final whistle.
Though light shower interrupted the second half for a while, the Barak players proved to the spectators as one of the top most contenders for the title even this year.
Fifteen minutes into the second half, Nyithung Magh netted the team’s third goal making it 3-0. And by the 61st minute of the match, centre forward of Barak Aloumei Panmei, who came as a substitute, netted the fourth goal for his team, followed by the fifth goal in the 64th minute by another substitute player Kikrusato Angami.
The Boys United players were left demoralized and with no hope of turning the match to their favour after the huge deficit. The defending champions maintained no complacency till the final whistle. They continued with their dominating attacks as Salu Kulim found the net for his second goal of the match and the tournament.
As the match became one-sided in favour of Barak, majority of the spectators left their seats even before time. Of course, cloudy weather also played its part to demoralize the spirit of the spectators who turned out to witness quality and competitive football.
Wednesday being the inaugural day, only a match was played. However, starting from tomorrow (Thursday) till 24th September, four matches would be played daily starting from 9.30 am onwards.
In the first match tomorrow (Thursday), Phezhu Boys Club, Jotsoma will take on Yhome FC, Kohima, while in the second match, 10th NAP (IR) XI will play ICFAI University FC, Dimapur. In the third match, Sechü Zubza Youth Organisation will play against three-times champions Naga Boys Club (1st batch), followed by the fourth match between Billy Graham FC Kohima and Country Boys FC.
The Martyrs’ Trophy is being organized by the Angami Students’ Union (ASU) under the aegis of the Naga Students’ Federation, in memory of late Kekuojalie Sachü (Kohima village) and late Vikhozo Yhoshü (Kigwema village), who laid down their lives for the cause of the student community in 1986. The tournament is annually held under theme “Goal for peace”.
The winners of this year’s edition will fetch a cash award of Rs. 1 lakh sixty thousand along with trophy, while the runners-up will receive prize money of Rs 1 lakh. The losing semifinalists and quarterfinalists will also be given a cash award of Rs 20,000 and Rs 10,000 respectively.
For individual awards, the ‘Player of the Tournament’ will receive a Scooty, while attractive prizes have also been set aside for other categories such as - best defender, best custodian, best midfielder and highest scorer.
A total of 63 teams with 1134 players are participating in the month-long tournament which will conclude on October 15. 49 teams are from Kohima district, 6 from Dimapur, 3 from Peren, 2 each from Phek and Manipur and one from Tuensang.
From the first round till the pre-quarterfinal matches, the duration of the match would be 70 minutes. From the quarterfinal onwards, the duration will be 90 minutes. Under a tie, the match would be extended for another 30 minutes and further to the tiebreak if there is still a tie after the completion of extra time.
