Narainpur, May 16 (IANS) Mizoram and Maharashtra won their respective Group D matches of the Swami Vivekananda Men’s U20 National Football Championship against Himachal Pradesh and Jharkhand, at the Ramakrishna Mission Ashrama Ground, on Friday. While Mizoram demolished Himachal 8-0 In the morning, Maharashtra defeated Jharkhand 4-1.

Joel Lalramengmawia (43’, 51’, 54’ p, 61’) was the star of the show, netting half of Mizoram’s goals, while Mesak C. Lalrinngheta (46’), Ngurthanmawia (75’), John Lalrinawma (80’), and Stephen Ngurchhuanmawia (88’ p) scored one each.

Maharashtra defeated Jharkhand 4-1 to maintain their challenge for the top spot in Group D. All the goals came in the second half.

Niranjan Gaikwad (48’, 80’, 90+4’) scored a hat-trick to keep his side in the hunt for a semifinal spot. While Jharkhand had momentarily equalised through Krishna Hembrom (68’), they would soon find themselves behind again, as Gaikwad continued his scoring form. Arhev Jodhwani (90+3’) added one more in injury time to wrap up the three points for Maharashtra.

The top three sides in the group – Mizoram, Tripura, and Maharashtra – are locked on six points each, though Maharashtra have played three matches, one more than the other two. Only the top team will make it to the semi-finals.

On Thursday, Manipur and Punjab won their respective matches against Uttar Pradesh and Sikkim in Group C. While Manipur defeated Uttar Pradesh 2-0, Punjab overcame Sikkim 3-2.

Manipur remain fourth in the group despite the win, having garnered three points from two matches. Uttar Pradesh, on the other hand, remain top of the group despite this defeat. They are on six points from three matches, the same as Punjab, but are ahead of the latter by dint of a better head-to-head record.

–IANS

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