Amritsar, July 31: Manipur clinched the Dr. B.C. Roy Trophy (Tier 1) title with a dominant 3-0 victory over defending champions West Bengal in the final of the Junior Boys’ National Football Championship, held at the Guru Nanak Dev University Sports Complex on Wednesday. The triumph marks Manipur’s first title in 25 years, a long-awaited return to glory.
The match saw Manipur take control early, leading 2-0 at halftime with goals from Lourembam Naocha Singh (17’) and Ngayungmi Kashung (37’), before Amom Krish Singh (90+2’) sealed the win with a stoppage-time strike.
Both finalists entered the contest unbeaten, each having scored 13 goals en route to the final, setting up what was billed as a clash of equals. However, Manipur’s superior hunger, tactical discipline, and intensity on the day overwhelmed a lacklustre West Bengal side.
The opening goal came in the 17th minute when Khutleibam Sultan made a brilliant run down the right wing and delivered a precise low cross to Lourembam Naocha Singh. Singh’s deft first touch was followed by a thunderous left-footed finish, beating West Bengal goalkeeper Suva Barai to give Manipur the early lead.
Riding the momentum, Manipur controlled the tempo with sharp passing and relentless pressing. West Bengal, despite their offensive pedigree, looked out of sync and were repeatedly undone by misplaced passes and disjointed play.
In the 37th minute, Manipur doubled their lead. Again, Sultan was at the heart of the move, sending in a teasing cross from the right. Yumnam Sonamani’s header was saved by Barai, but Ngayungmi Kashung reacted fastest to bury the rebound and make it 2-0.
West Bengal’s attack, led by tournament top-scorer Rajdeep Paul, failed to make an impact. Paul, who had netted seven goals in the competition, was effectively shut down by Manipur’s compact defensive setup. West Bengal’s best opportunity came in the 80th minute when Rintu Malik played Paul through, but a crucial block from Alex Oinam kept Manipur’s clean sheet intact.
Manipur capped off the win in stoppage time. In the 90+2nd minute, Sonamani turned provider with a clever assist to Amom Krish Singh, who calmly slotted in his sixth goal of the tournament to complete the rout and spark jubilant celebrations on the Manipur bench.
