Narainpur (Chhattisgarh), July 27 (Agency) Odisha caused an upset on the opening day of the Junior Boys’ National Football Championship for the BC Roy Trophy 2024-25 at the Ramakrishna Ashrama ground here on Saturday, when they defeated defending champions Uttar Pradesh 3-1 in a Group A match.The teams were locked 1-1 at half time.Given that group A has only three teams, Mizoram being the other side, a victory in the first match could prove crucial in Odisha’s quest for a place in the next round. Played under constant rain, Odisha took the lead in the sixth minute when Montu Nag finished off a combined move in style witha perfect grounder from inside the box.Not to be undone, Uttar Pradesh restored parity in the 21st minute through Shivam Yadav. The goal came off a corner kick and Yadav outjumped his marker to find the target.An opportunistic goal by Sambhunath Majhi gave Odisha the lead in the 64th minute. While collecting a shot, Uttar Pradesh goalkeeper Raj Singh failed to grasp it cleanly and Majhi, who was lurking nearby, made no mistake. Odisha made sure of the three points when Viky Majhi netted the third goal in the 90+1 minute. Three one-sided matches that fetched a combined total of 38 goals remained the story of the opening day of the National Football Championship for Junior Girls’ 2024-25 Tier 2 that kicked off in Belgaum, Karnataka on Saturday.
Played at the Planet Lovedale Central School ground, in the day’s first match in Group A, Uttar Pradesh crushed Andaman & Nicobar 14-0 and then it was the turn of hosts Karnataka to make merry of Jammu and Kashmir, beating them 17-0. The group B match between Tripura and Pondicherry was no different, with the former romping home by a 6-1 margin.For Karnataka, striker Maitreyi Palasamudram was the chief destroyer of the opponents netting four goals. The rest of the goals for the winners, who led 6-0 at half time, came through Advika Kanojia, Rheana Liz Jacob, Tanvi Nair, Anaya Susan Thomas, Ruthu Sreenandan (all two goals each), H Yashica, Medha Gupta and Sila Adarsh.In the Uttar Pradesh versus Andaman & Nicobar match, Anchal Patel was the main scorer with five goals to her credit. Shbana (3), Khushi Rai (2), Sarita and Kumari Komal were the other scorers. Andaman and Nicobar did themselves no favour by conceding two own goals from Preeti Das and K Victoria.In Group B, Kunti Urang and Ponamdita Debnath scored two goals each in Tripura’s facile 6-1 win. Riya Jamatia and Joya Debbarma were the other scorers. A Justina pulled one back for Pondicherry.