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Bihar have emerged as major underdogs of the ongoing Junior National Championship for Girls U-18, 2015 and have booked their place in the Semi-Finals with a second straight victory over Maharashtra.
Maharashtra started well and tried their best to break the opposition’s defense line.The first 30 minutes of the match saw a lot of midfield action and the ball kept changing flanks with Maharashtra trying to establish their dominance over the game.
Bihar broke the deadlock in quick fire session with 2 goals in the space of 4 minutes. Both goals were scored by India International Tara Khatoon in the 32 min and 35 min of play. The individual brilliance gave Bihar a lead of 2-0 going into the half-time break.
Coming out of the break, charged and pumped the Maharashtra frontline of Mamta Acharya, Bhagyashree Dalvi and Jyoti Mehra pressurized the opposition’s defense. Within 5 minutes, Maharashtra got the breakthrough as Jyoti Mehra, scored in the 50th minute to pulled one back for Maharashtra.
The goal gave a much needed boost to the player’s confidence as they pressed hard to find an equalizer. Bihar’s defence started to crack under pressure and the presence of Maharashtra supporters among the audience propelled Maharashtra to move forward. Akanksha Kandalkar, scored the equalizer in the 68 min to draw level with 20 mins left in regulation time.
With the match tied it was anyone’s game, with Maharashtra having the upper hand. But Bihar’s Archana Kumari, scored in the 79 min to put Bihar ahead. With the score 3-2 in Bihar’s favour, Maharashtra toiled harder in search of an equalizer. As Maharashtra were on the offensive, Bihar took the chance to hit them on the counter and scored a goal through their marksman Archana Kumari in the 85 min to create some breathing space for Bihar.
Despite all the efforts in the dying minutes of the game, Maharashtra couldn’t score as Bihar took the match 4-2 in a tensed and tight affair.
Final Score: Bihar 4- 2 Maharashtra
Goal Scorers for Bihar:
TARA KHATOON (32 min, 35 min)
ARCHANA KUMARI (79min, 85 min)
Goal Scorers for Maharashtra:
JYOTI MEHRA (50 min)
AKANKSHA KANDALKAR ( 68 min)
