In the 72nd Santosh Trophy, Mizoram continue their winning spree with a stunning victory over Odisha 5-0 during their match on Thursday. It was an easy win for Mizoram on Thursday though they took a cautious approach while taking on Odisha in their Group B match of the Santosh Trophy at the Rabindra Sarobar Stadium in Kolkata on Thursday.
In the 40th minute of the first half of the match, Mizoram’s Lalbiakhlua was able to net the first goal for his team against Odisha and against in the 42nd minute, Mizoram’s Lalromawia scored the second goal for his team.
In the second half, it was Lalromawia again who was able to score another goal for Mizoram against Odisha. Now it was Dawngtea’s turn to strike and scored the fourth goal for Mizoram.
Continuing the spirit of the Mizoram boys, the fifth goal was netted by Valpuia for Mizoram taking the score of Mizoram against Odisha 5-0.
Mizoram football team was obviously on a high after winning against Goa in their opening match on Tuesday. On the other hand, Odisha, were feeling the pressure after they lost their opening match against Punjab 1-2.
Earlier, Mizoram coach Lalsangzuala Hmar reportedly told the media, “From what I have heard, Odisha are a strong team even though they lost on Tuesday… We will have to work hard to win.”
Agreeing that not knowing the rival players (Odisha) would only restrict their approach, the Mizoram coach earlier told the media, “We are not familiar with the way Odisha play. They will go all out to win this match. We will take a cautious approach in the first half at least.”
Stating that their approach would be cautious, the coach had told the media, “We will have to be careful and play within our limitations. It will be a tactical game… We need to be careful and should never lose concentration,” adding, “Once we study and gauge the Odisha players, we can go for goals.”
And the cautious approach helped Mizoram to thrash Odisha.
On March 20, Mizoram had produced a stunning upset to down six-time champions Goa 3-1, while an own goal by Odisha gave Punjab a lucky 2-1 win, in the group B opening fixtures of the national football championship for the 72nd Santosh Trophy.
With the win on Tuesday, Mizoram went on top of the group with three points and lead Punjab on a better goal difference. In the 11th minute of the game on Tuesday, Goa drew the first blood through their captain Victorino Fernandes but it was a one-way traffic for Mizoram from the 25th minute onwards as F Lalrinpuia brought the scores level before Lal Romawia’s brace (81st and 84th) sealed three points for the 2013-14 winners at the Rabindra Sarobar Stadium.
Former champions Punjab also rallied from a goal down to beat Odisha 2-1 at the Sailen Manna Sports Complex in Howrah Maidan.
Mizoram went on top of the group with with three points and lead Punjab on a better goal difference.
At Rabindra Sarobar, it did not take much time for Goa to stamp their authority on the game.
Marcus Mascarenhas ran from the left side to beat his marker and play a forward pass to India international Victorino Fernandes, who made his way into the box to beat the Mizoram defenders and slot the ball past goalkeeper Laltanpuia Ralte.
Persistent efforts of Mizoram boys were rewarded when Lalbiakhlua’s shot was stopped by the goalkeeper Ozen Vivian Silva and the loose ball fell to Lalrinpuia. The forward’s first shot was blocked by a defender but he was successful in the second attempt, stated a media report.
After the break, Mizoram were unlucky when Lalremruata’s header hit the crosspiece.