Bengal start on a winning note

Formidable West Bengal served a stern warning as they trounced Rajasthan by 15-0 in their opening cluster VIII round match in the Ninth Junior National Girls Under-19 Football Championship being conducted by Chandigarh Football Association at the Punjab Engineering College grounds on Friday.

Formidable West Bengal served a stern warning as they trounced Rajasthan by 15-0 in their opening cluster VIII round match in the Ninth Junior National Girls Under-19 Football Championship being conducted by Chandigarh Football Association at the Punjab Engineering College grounds on Friday.

Pooja Karmakar,Tina Das and Rajina Khartun were the wrecker-in-chiefs of the Rajasthan defence. Toying with their rivals,West Bengal scored goals at will. Pooja Karmakar proved the most successful striker as she top scored with seven goals. Her goals came in the ninth,14th,17th,38th,42nd,64th and 76th minutes. Tina Das gave Pooja full support as she was on target six times by striking in the 15th,22nd,26th,39th,47th and 48th minutes. Rajina Khartun netted in the 33rd and 66th minutes. In a cluster VII match,another team from North East,Assam outplayed Uttrakhand with a 5-0 margin. Pranati scored two goals in the 37th and 48th minutes.

Ranjumoni (First),Sobita (41st) and Manoni (61st) contributed one goal each for Assam to emerge easy winners in their opening round match. Earlier runners-up Manipur and strong contenders Tripura commenced their campaign on an impressive note by scoring thumping verdicts in their respective preliminary round cluster matches.

Manipur trounced Chattisgarh by 7-0 in cluster VI round outing while Tripura virtually toyed with Punjab with a 7-2 margin in their cluster VIII fixture. Ebullient Janu Debbarama recorded the first hat-trick in the ninth edition of the Junior Nationals. Displaying brilliant ball control,Janu Debbarama completed her fine feat within a span of four minutes. Sangeeta Debbarama (seventh minute),Rita Karmakar (eighth minute) and Shoba Devi (44th minute) had given Tripura a 3-0 lead by contributing one goal each before Janu sprang on the scene. She opened her account by scoring in the 50th minute. Then Janu found the target in 52nd and 54th minutes to complete her hat-trick. Punjab gave an improved performance. They were able to score two goals through the efforts of left winger Rajveer Kaur who scored a fine brace. In the 55th minute,a defensive lapse on the right flank beat advancing Tripura goalkeeper. The ball came to Rajveer Kaur who gently guided it into the goal with left foot.

Punjab maintained pressure and got their second goal through Rajveer Kaur who leashed a fine left footer which brooked no denial. The Tripura players were able to score their seventh goal through Sumitra Kalai in the 82nd minute. Janu Debbarma was also shown a yellow card in the 70th minute for a rough tackle. At the adjacent ground,runners-up Manipur proved too good for Chattisgarh whom they whiped by a 7-0 margin. Kamla contributed a brace by scoring in the 39th and 49th minutes. Reena Rai Devi also struck in the 13th and 18th minutes. Ph Bina Devi (16th),Umavati (63rd) and Kamla (73rd) contributed one goal each to increase the victory margin for Manipur. Orissa got a walkover from Jammu and Kashmir who have withdrawn from the meet due to prevailing law and order situation in their state. Orissa got full three points from their opening cluster V match.

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