Patna: Jharkhand have confirmed their place in the final of the National Sub Junior Girls Football Championship Tier-1 after a thrilling 4-2 penalty shootout victory over Bihar. The semi-final match ended 2-2 after regular time, with Jharkhand emerging victorious in the shootout. They will now face Manipur in the final on 11 September, after Manipur defeated host West Bengal 5-2 in the other semi-final.
The semi-final, held at the DSA Ground in Malda, West Bengal, was closely contested between Bihar and Jharkhand. Both teams were tied 2-2 after 90 minutes of regulation time. With no goals scored during the 15-minute extra time periods, the match went to a penalty shootout, where Jharkhand came out on top.
For Jharkhand, Sunaina Tudu, Deepika Kumari, Gauri, and Sonal Munda successfully converted their penalties, while Nancy missed. For Bihar, Naina and Pinky Kumari found the back of the net, but Ranjana and Anshu failed to score. Jharkhand’s goalkeeper, Aarushi, delivered an impressive performance in the shootout.
The match saw its first goal in the 30th minute when Bihar’s Rinki Kumari Chauhan scored, giving her team a 1-0 lead. Just before the end of the first half, Jharkhand’s Sabrina Kumari equalised, bringing the score to 1-1 at halftime.
The second half started with a flurry of attacks from both sides. In the 53rd minute, Sabrina scored her second goal of the match, putting Jharkhand ahead 2-1. However, the lead was short-lived, as Rinki Kumari Chauhan netted her second goal for Bihar in the 61st minute, levelling the match at 2-2.
Despite numerous attempts from both teams, neither could break the deadlock in regular time or extra time, leading to the penalty shootout, where Jharkhand secured their place in the final.
