Santosh Trophy: Madhya Pradesh picks first win of the campaign

by Chittu Shetty January 14, 2023

In a closely contested afternoon encounter, Madhya Pradesh secured a hard-fought 2-0 victory over Dadra & Nagar Haveli and Daman & Diu.

Both teams started off evenly matched in attack, with neither side able to produce a killer instinct in the final third.

The first big chance of the match came in the 18th minute when Shahamath’s free-kick into the box was hit goalwards by DNH & DD forward, but a fingertip save from MP Goalkeeper Shwang Hurmade kept the score level.

However, in the 30th minute, a moment of magic from the middle changed the course of the match. MP captain Samarth Minocha fed the ball to Rishabh Rajak, whose shot from outside the box beat the keeper to the top left corner, giving MP the lead. The goal boosted the confidence of the Madhya Pradesh side and they raised the bar creating a few more half-chances.

*^{Rahul Kharpadiya (White) of DNH & DD runs with the ball as Atharva Basavraj (Blue) of Madhya Pradesh aims to intervene}*

In the second half, both teams continued to play back and forth with few chances. MP looked more likely to score between the two. In the 72nd minute, Mohammed Hashmi sent in a long cross to the far post where substitute Kritik Nair struck a first-time volley. The ball bounced over the keeper to an unmarked Ishaan Sahi, who nodded it in to make it 2-0.

With the two-goal lead, Madhya Pradesh saw out the rest of the game without much trouble. The team picked their first win after three losses and will now look to end the campaign with a win in their final group game against Chhattisgarh on Sunday. At the other end, DNH & DD remain winless and without a point so far, they face Haryana on Sunday and will look to open their points tally against them.

FT: DNH & DD 0 – 2 Madhya Pradesh

Also Read: Dominant West Bengal secures 5-0 Victory, Haryana picks a come-from-behind win

Also Read: Johnson Mathews and Arif Shaikh shine as Maharashtra claims fourth straight victory