With 54 goals in 3 matches, CFA start as favourites

Daniel Lalhlimpuia showed why he was such a coveted member of the Chandigarh Football Academy team, as he netted three goals to steer the Chandigarh outfit to an easy 9-0 win over Madhya Pradesh Football Association in the last pool match of the 10th Administrator's Challenge Cup All India football tournament for Under-17 boys, at the Sector 17 Football Stadium on Saturday. With the treble, Daniel, a key member of the Indian Under-16 team, has now scored an astonishing 17 goals in just three matches. Nishu Kumar, the other player who is enjoying a purple patch in front of the goal, has raked in 12 goals in three matches, with two goals coming in Saturday's match. The team has now kept a clean sheet in all their three matches and scored 54 goals.

There never was any doubt about the outcome of the match but surprisingly the Madhya Pradesh team managed to hold on to the fort for half an hour. But the inevitable had to happen and it was K Lal Ramdawava who opened the account for the hosts with a stunning effort in the 30th minute. This opened the floodgates as the CFA players once again continued to enjoy a goal-feast. Daniel scored in the 50th, 65th and 90th minutes of the match while Salman, Samuel Lalmuanpuia, Indermohan and Nishu also added their names among the scorers.

After topping their group, the CFA team entered the semi-finals and will now face an in-form Gorkha Training Center, Sikkim.

The team from North East has been one of the surprise elements of the tournament and with another impressive 5-0 win over Coaching Center Goregaon, they have certainly created a buzz among the football lovers. Continuing with his rich form, Robert Metei once again came up with a stellar performance and netted a brace to put his team into the driver's seat. Naowa Metei was also on target and scored a brace to further consolidate the team's position while Japis Singh rounded off the tally for the Sikkim team.

... contd.

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