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Tamil Nadu, Bengal, and Railways began the Final Round of the 28th Senior Women’s National Football Championship for Rajmata Jijabai Trophy 2023-24, with victories against Delhi, Punjab, and Chandigarh, respectively, on Wednesday, May 1, 2024, in Kolkata.
It’s early days in the championship, but hosts Bengal have taken the top spot in Group A for now, by dint of a better goal difference. They are followed by Tamil Nadu and Railways.
Rimpa Haldar nets tournament’s first hattrick
Punjab 1-7 Bengal
(P: Nisha 63′; B: Mousumi Murmu 2′, Rimpa Haldar 13′,38′,51′, Poonam Sharma 69′, Sulanjana Raul 83′, Dular Marandi 90+7′)
Hosts Bengal produced a dominant performance at the Kishore Bharati Krirangan on Wednesday, as Rimpa Haldar scored a hattrick to help her side complete a 7-1 rout against Punjab.
Mousumi Murmu opened the scoring in the second minute, as she ran onto a through ball by Haldar, and slotted it into the net. The latter soon turned to scoring, when she dribbled past her marker and beat the opposition keeper to double the lead. She showed a lot of desire to snatch the ball from a Punjab defender before rushing into the box to beat Punjab keeper Jyoti once again.
Haldar completed her hattrick in the 51st minute, when she curled one from the edge of the penalty box. Harmilan Kaur pulled one back for Punjab a little after the hour mark, but Bengal were well in control of the proceedings by then.
Poonan Sharma (69′), and substitutes Sulanjana Raul (83′) and Dular Marandi (90+7′) added three more to complete a big win for the hosts.
Karthika brace powers Tamil Nadu to a win
Delhi 0-3 Tamil Nadu
(Sandhiya Ranganathan 22′, Karthika Angamuthu 26′, 90+5′)
Defending champions Tamil Nadu began their Final Rounds campaign with a convincing win against Delhi, as midfielder Karthika Angamuthu netted a brace at the AIFF National Centre of Excellence.
Tamil Nadu remained well in control of the game, and forward Sandhiya opened the scoring in the 22nd minute, Karthika Angamuthu doubling the lead four minutes later. The latter was on target again, deep in injury time of the second half, as Tamil Nadu ran away with a 3-0 victory.
Railways defeat Chandigarh
Railways 3-0 Chandigarh
(Naobi Chanu Laishram 40′, Anju Tamang 57′, Yumnam Kamala Devi 78′)
Last season’s semi-finalists, Railways earned a 3-0 victory against Chandigarh at the AIFF NCE, making it a three-way race for the top two spots in Group A, for now.
Naobi Chanu (40′) and Anju Tamang (57′) scored on both sides of the half-time break, before veteran midfielder Kamala Devi added a third in the 78th minute, to earn the three points for the 2015-16 champions.
