Neroca wins seven-goal thriller to break Punjab jinx

Imphal, March 10 (PTI) Imphal rained goals in an entertaining I-League game with Neroca, 4-3 winner against Punjab FC thanks to a triumph from Ghnaian striker Phillip Adjah Tettey at the Khuman Lumpak stadium here on Tuesday.

Tettey gave Neroca the advantage in the fifth minute before Dipanda Dicka restored parity three minutes later by scoring his 50th goal in the I-League.

Tettey scored his second goal in the 37th minute to recover Neroca's advantage before substitute Girik Mahesh Khosla (59th) brought the Punjab back to near-the-hour level.

Visitors were reduced to 10 men after Yumnam Raju was fired for a second booking offense. Neroca quickly took the lead 4-2, thanks to a goal by Danilo from Punjab (75th) and shortly after, Tettey scored his third of the match in the 82nd minute.

Dicka converted a penalty in the 86th minute, but the home team maintained the rest of the match in a nervous final.

Gift Raikhan has made wholesale changes to the composition of the home team. Dhananjoy Singh and Rojen Meitei were called to the back. Jiteshwor Singh fell just behind Imran Khan in the midfield. Khangam Horam and Singam Subash Singh started from the start.

Punjab gaffer Yan Law made three changes. Yumnam Raju and Samuel Shadap were reinstated in defense of four men. Sergio Barboza Jr. also made his comeback, starting off wide.

The match got off to a flying start. In the fourth minute, Sergio Barboza's threatening run was read by Himanshu Jangra, who made himself available for a pass with an overlapping run. Jangra chose Dipanda Dicka inside the box, which had a crack the first time but was refused by the crossbar.

A minute later, Neroca caught the Punjab nap on the counter. Jiteshwor Singh led the charge and found Imran Khan to his left. Khan played Tettey to goal and the Ghanaian striker clinically surpassed Kiran Limbu for the first game.

In the 8th minute, the home team shot themselves in the foot during a corner kick when Imran Khan conceded a position outside the surface of the Punjab, which caused a break. Sanju Pradhan ran the full length of the field before facing off against Dicka, who made no mistake this time to restore parity.

Neroca effectively supported and paid dividends in the 37th minute. Kiran Limbu's capricious pass was chosen, which brought Tettey back to goal. Danilo couldn't recover in time and Tettey restored Neroca's advantage before the break.

In the 48th minute, it was veteran Sanju Pradhan who played the culprit and lost possession of Tettey but with a wave of the hat beckoning, he puffed his lines with his finish.

Almost an hour ago, the delivery of set pieces from Sanju was not read by the Neroca backline, allowing substitute Khosla to score a spectacular equalizer.

Yumnam Raju made matters worse for holding the Punjab, after picking up a red card for a second offense to book.

The Orange Brigade took full advantage of its individual advantage. In the 75th minute, Imran Khan's left foot curling player found Danilo's header, and the Brazilian, to his dismay, scored an unfortunate own goal.

Neroca added to the misery of the Punjabs by adding a fourth. A schoolboy defending the Punjab once again added the last nail in the coffin.

Eze Kingsley gave the ball and, in an effort to retrieve the ball, came down to put Tettey in the game for his hat-trick, which he duly scored this time.

Dicka's penalty in the 86th minute allowed 4-3 to head to a nervous end with five more minutes, but Neroca wanted to save a vital victory in his quest to avoid relegation.

Neroca has now taken a place above with 18 points, while the Punjab remains in third position with 23. PTI PDS PDS
PDS

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Warning :- This story has not been edited by Outlook staff and is automatically generated from news agency feeds. Source: PTI

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