PNN
Cuttack, July 14: Orissa eves have performed as expected and will definitely start favourites when they face Haryana in one of the semifinals of the Junior National Football Championships for girls here Friday at the Barabati Stadium.
The hosts have won four of the five games they have played in the tournament so far. Their only defeat came in the quarterfinal league when they lost 0-3 to their perennial nemesis, Manipur.
Orissa have managed to overcome the other oppositions riding on the performances of their two strikers Jasmani Samad and Sumita, while midfielder Anima Malik got the all important winning goal in the crucial quarterfinal league game against Assam. The hosts will certainly depend on these three to see them through against Haryana.
Coach Gitanjali Khuntia said Thursday that she is quite satisfied with the performance of the team so far. “Frankly, I’m quite happy with the show. Strikers have scored, defenders have stood firm and mid-fielders are linking well. So we will be out there tomorrow (Friday) with same spirit,” she stated.
Speaking about their strategy, Khuntia said, “Our approach is quite simple. We don’t play in the same formation continuously. Our formation depends on our opponents. We will go for 4-4-2 formation against Harayana. Our aim will be to score early and establish our supremacy.”