A single, solitary goal was all that separated Manipur and Meghalaya in the quarterfinals of the U-17 girls’ Subroto Cup 2024, with Manipur winning 1-0 in Gurgaon today morning.
The goal was scored by Manipur’s Alva in the 24th minute. The ball was placed into the box by a team mate and the Meghalaya goalkeeper got behind it but the bounce, perhaps, caught her off guard and she failed to latch on to the ball or punch it away, leading to Alva volleying onto the crossbar and over the line.
Meghalaya had qualified for the quarters after winning all three of their Pool D matches against Punjab 12-0, Maharashtra 1-0 and the Indian Public Schools Conference (IPSC) 10-1 in the preceding days. Pynibha Rangthaluh netted 13 of Meghalaya’s goals – seven against Punjab and six against IPSC.
Meghalaya was represented at the prestigious schools’ tournament by Christian Higher Secondary School of Ri-Bhoi, which won the state-level Subroto Cup last month.
The state’s hopes now rest on the U-15 boys’ and U-17 boys’ teams, represented by Nongjri Presbyterian Secondary School and Myngken Christian Higher Secondary School, both of Ri-Bhoi.
The U-15 boys’ category is set to begin on August 19 and that of the U-17 boys’ on September 2.
