Our Correspondent
KOHIMA, OCTOBER 9
Defending champions Barak FC, Peren blanked Laii Youth and Students’ Organisation (LYSO), Manipur 5-0 to enter the semifinal of the ongoing NSF Martyrs Memorial Trophy held at Kohima Local Ground.
After a nervy match against the Country Boys FC in the pre-quarters, the defending champions were back to their dominating form as they humbled the visiting team from Senapati with a humiliating defeat.
Playing under the rain, the Barak players went all out prove that they are all set to defend their title for the second consecutive year. Barak FC took the lead in the 27th minute through their centre forward Nzauhutbo Nbung, followed by the second in the 36th minute through Nyithung Magh.
Just before the interval, Barak’s defender Salu Kulim got past the keeper in the 44th minute to take the score line to 3-0. Salu Kulim’s goal will boost his confidence as he had a disappointing performance in the last match against Country Boys FC.
The visiting team LYSO was no match for Barak who dominated the entire match.
Entering the second half, LYSO were never in a position to get back in the game as the Barak players went for more goals. Nzauhutbo went on to score his second goal in the 59th minute.
To the disappointment of LYSO, Salu Kulim netted his second goal of the match in the 68th minute to end the score line with 5-0.
Earlier, the first quarterfinal witnessed an exciting match as Khulioh King Tuensang made it to the semis with a narrow win against Alianza FC, Dimapur.
Khulioh King, who are considered as one of the favorites to lift the trophy in line with Barak FC, for the second consecutive match had a nervy win as they overcame their rivals just by a solitary goal scored by Kingiudin.
The Tuensang team also escaped a near exit in the pre-quarterfinal as they only scored in final minute against Tribal FC, Kohima to enter the quarterfinal. A tie-break could have gone either way, but Khulioh King found a savior in Ratobe who rescued them in the last minute of the match just before the additional time.
A goal is all what it takes, and even today the lone goal by Kingiudin was enough to take them to the semis as their rivals Alianza FC failed to find the equalizer till the stipulated 90-minutes match.
