Finals Preview: Orissa v Manipur

IMPHAL: Hosts Manipur will go in as marginal favourites when they face Orissa in the final of the 18th Senior Women’s Football Championship at the Khuman Lampak Stadium on March 25 courtesy of their impressive home field advantage.

 

Both teams have been unbeaten in the current campaign with a record of five wins in as many games and while Manipur are yet to conceded a single goal, Orissa have not done too badly either - conceding just once.  

The fierce rivalry between these two footballing power-houses is attested by the fact that they have locked horns in the finals of this tournament no lesser than four times previously, which includes the last three editions consecutively -2002, 2007, 2008 and 2009. Team Manipur, who has won the championship a record sixteen times, dominates the head-to-head record between the two teams.

For Orissa, a lot will rest on the able shoulders of their star strikers Sasmita Mallick and Pinky Bompal Maga, who has been in scorching form throughout the competition. The two India Internationals has had an impressive season, the former scoring thrice enroute to winning the Gold medal at the SAG Games in Dhaka, Bangladesh.

That the Manipur roster almost entirely comprises of the national team is a known fact and one that has moulded them into an unbeatable force in the last decade. Though Orissa are slowly emerging as strong contenders in the junior categories, clinching several championships at the expense of the Manipuri eves.

Rest assured, a huge turn-out is expected in the Khuman Lampak galleries when the final kicks off tomorrow.