Dr. T Ao Trophy XXII Inter District Football Championship 2022
Dimapur Qualify for Semi Finals
Dimapur 3 : 0 Niuland
Mokokchung | April 26, 2022
Dimapur made it through to the semi-finals after a score from Kiba in the 14th minute, Toka in the 29th and Kakhevi in the 70th in their game against Niuland.
Debutants Niuland had a frustrating game in their quarter final match against a Dimapur team who were not at their best themselves. Dimapur lacked consistency and desire, and the classy beautiful football which they have demonstrated throughout the tournament was missing.
Their forwards Kiba-Assumi-Zhimo trio didn’t let them down and was able to convert their chances into results but it’s doubtful to say if Dimapur will win against the likes of Tseminyu given their performance today. They better step up if they want to win this tournament.
However, Niuland had an even more disappointing game. They had the ball and chances as Dimpaur failed to control the ball but they just could not get any result. They lacked the spirit of a team that wanted to get into the semifinals.
Mughapu, in his final game made some decent runs but could not convert it into any results and hence, was left frustrated along with the Niuland fans.
Defending Champions Phek fail to defend their title;
Mon qualify for the Semis
Phek 1 : 3 Mon
The defending champs Phek started their game with some brave but risky game plan which worked in their favor when Mon goalkeeper Eshong Konyak made a blunder and with just 5 minutes into the game, Johnny Ritse scored for Phek.
However, the defending champs had an average run in this tournament showing their brilliance only in their qualifying match against Wokha. And much to the fans’disappointment, the defending champs just didn’t show up even today and thus their title defense campaign came to an abrupt end.
Phek took the risk of heavily relying on their forwards and defense with no strength in the middle making the forwards struggle to penetrate through the 4-3-3 built by Mon. The forwards cannot score when there is no supply from the mid.
A bit of a blunder from the defensive mid left the Phek defense vulnerable to counter attacks and Mon forwards, known for their sharpness, accuracy and great run, took advantage of it in the 20th minute by Langphong.
Another careless mistake by center back Khrukhuto Resu inside the d-box handed Mon a penalty kick which Laiwang deftly converted it into 2-1 in favor of Mon. And from this, there was no way for Phek to get back into the game.
In the second half, Mon returned stronger, more relaxed and confident. They played wide with Tingyek Konyak holding the mid and passing some beautiful long balls to their forwards which pressured the back of Phek making the defending champions more nervous and forcing them to make mistakes.
When Mon counter attacked, Phek’s full backs were taken out of position, leaving the forwards of the Mon team unmarked. This was the match where Phek conceded the most goals in the tournament and they just had a bad game.
Tingyek Konyak on the other hand held the mid superbly and connected the back and the forward like an iron bridge. His moment of brilliance was visible as he delivered a long ball from the center to Langphong on the right flank to David Konyak to Samson to Amon and back to Samson and then goal, making it 3-1in the 63rd minute.
Peren qualify for Semifinals as Kohima fail to nudge Peren defense
Peren 1:0 Kohima
A surprising result for many but any true football fan would agree that Kohima just did not deserve to win today. The players looked totally strained out and stiff as they got trapped in Peren’s crafty formation.
Key players like Rutsa,Yhome and Gwirie could not even get many decent balls to strike into the net as goalkeeper Dziesengulie maintained a decent performance throughout the game.
Kohima started with an uncomfortable 4-4-2 against a 4-5-1 Peren who were not looking to score but to defend unless they got an opportunity to go counter.
Peren’s formation made it easier for them to be defensive as their midfielders played excellent winger roles and their second full back trapped the Kohima players, not allowing them to be flexible as expected.
Kohima lacked efficiency in central midfield areas and their full backs that were supposed to bomb up and down the pitch as they chose to play through the middle rather than use the wide went amiss.
With changes coming in the last minutes of the second half, Kohima challenged the defense of the Peren team but failed to produce any result. Moreover, the clock did not wait for Kohima to come back into the game.
The result ended with a stunning header by Mezibui in the 50th minute from a corner kick which was the only goal of the game.
Peren will now face Dimapur in the semifinals.
Tseminyu fly past fellow debutants Shamator, lands semifinal berth
Yhunshalo Kemp nets a triple; Kent scores one
Tseminyu 4 : 0
ShamatorWhen you don’t mark Shalo Kemp, you pay. A lesson for all the opponents and Shamator might have realized that a little too late.
A game under the scorching sun, Tseminyu easily defeated debutants Shamator who failed to test Tseminyu’s defense even once.
Shalo Kemp once again put his name on the score list scoring a hat trick for the second time in the tournament and completely demolished the Shamator defense.
His first goal came in the 19th minute, then the 38th minute and finally in the 61st minute.
Sinlo Kent of Tseminyu had an excellent game as a key playmaker with support from Sinenlo Kath and ended up scoring a stunning goal from 30-yards in the 48th minute.
Tseminyu totally dominated the game in terms of possession, passes and goals and left no room for Shamator to even threaten them.
The result put Tseminyu in the semifinals with a date against Mon.