Manipur faces Meghalaya school in Subroto Cup junior boys final

Guwahati: The final of the ‘63rd Subroto Cup Junior Boys International Football Tournament’ will see an all Northeast clash today (September 11) as Meghalaya’s Myngken Christian Higher Secondary School will take on Manipur’s T.G English School at New Delhi’s Ambedkar Stadium. The match will kick-off at 3 pm.

T.G English School will look to be the only second school from Manipur to win the title in Subroto Cup after Ibemcha HSS won back to back titles way back in 1979 and 1980.

The school from Manipur’s Bishnupur has already bettered their performance from the 2023 edition where they were knocked out in the semi-finals by the eventual champions Govt. Model SSS.

They began their 2024 campaign in emphatic fashion, defeating Madhya Pradesh’s Indore Public School 7-0 in the first group match following up with another strong performance overcoming Nepal’s Sainik Awasiya Mahavidyalaya with a 4-0 victory.

In their last group match, a 1-1 draw against West Bengal’s Chowbaga High School saw them advance to the quarterfinals on the strength of a superior goal difference.

In the quarterfinals, they edged out Uttarakhand’s Amenity Public School 1-0, thanks to Mianithoba’s crucial strike. Their semi-final clash saw a hard-fought 1-0 victory against Sri Lanka Schools Football Association, securing their place in the finals.

Coach of the school, H. Imo Singh, said, “We are fully prepared, both mentally and physically, and confident about today’s match. Our goal is to bring the trophy home. We respect Meghalaya as a strong team and will not underestimate them. Having participated in the Subroto Cup four times, I can say it’s always been a great experience.”

On the other hand, Meghalaya’s Myngken Christian HSS will be playing their second Subroto Cup final, their previous one 13 years back in 2011 when they lost to NCC West Bengal and Sikkim Battalion 2-1.

They have been rampant throughout the tournament and will look to be the fifth team from the football crazy state of Meghalaya to lift the junior boys trophy after Shillong’s St. Antony's HSS in 1978, Government Boys HS in 1999, Om Roy Memorial School in 2013, and the latest being Hopewell Elias HSS in 2013.

They had an explosive start to their campaign, thrashing St. Francis Xavier High School 23-0 and continued their strong run by defeating defending champions Govt. Model Senior Secondary School of Chandigarh 1-0, with Banganson scoring the match-winner.

A 5-0 win over Bihar’s Kejariwal Vidyalaya on match day-3 ensured their top spot in Group F and their place in the knockout stages. In the quarterfinals, the team comfortably beat Minerva Public School of Mohali, 3-1, with Banganson netting a hat-trick.

They followed it up with a dominant 7-0 victory over Arunachal Pradesh’s Govt. Secondary School in the semi-final, with another hat-trick from Banganson to book their spot in the final.

The front three of Meghalaya - Banganson, Alicestar and Mebanlamiynit have been in terrific scoring form throughout the tournament scoring 28 goals among them.

Banganson has scored ten goals including two hat-tricks in the quarterfinal and semi-final clashes while the other two have scored nine each.

“It will be a tough game against a strong Manipur team, but we are well-prepared for the challenge. We’ve defeated some good teams, including last year’s champions Chandigarh and our boys have worked hard to reach this stage,” head coach of the school, Kitborlang Kharlukhi, said.

“We are determined to give our best and make it a memorable final. Overall the Subroto Cup has been an incredible experience for us and the organisation has been outstanding. We’re excited for today’s match and will do everything we can to be the champions,” he added.  

The final promises to be an exciting affair and there are many names that will be heard again in the years to come and their journey - like many others before them - are likely to begin at the hallowed turf of Ambedkar Stadium.