Lionesses crowned the Hero U-17 Women’s Championship by defeating Tigresses
Lionesses emerged
champions of the FSDL-organised Hero U-17 Women’s Championship, defeating
Tigresses 7-2 in the final here on Sunday. Goals from Lynda Kom Serto (17’,
50’), Priyanka Sujeesh (18’), Priyangka Devi Naroem (34’), Sumati Kumari (37’,
54’) and Sai Sankhe (69’) sealed the win for the Alex Ambrose-coached side
before Nisha (76’) and Karen Estrocio (81’) got some consolation for the
Tigresses.
Lionesses picked up from
where they left in the league phase after winning all three of their games. The
4-1 win over Tigresses on Friday was only a prelude as Lynda Kom led from the
front to break the deadlock. The crowd was treated to some tantalizing display
of football as all four goals in the first half were awe-worthy.
Sai Sankhe proved her
worth for the second time this tournament, coming off the bench and scoring
almost immediately. Priya PV-coached Tigresses found their groove late on as
they bagged a couple of goals late on but Alex Ambrose masterminded yet another
tournament triumph, a little more than a month after guiding the Indian team to
the SAFF U-15 Women’s Championship in October.
Aimed at scouting the
best talents to form the national U-17 team ahead of the 2020 FIFA U-17 Women’s
World Cup to be held in India, the tournament witnessed thousands of football
fans cheering on the girls from the stands in the summit clash. The tournament
turned out to be a massive success giving India U-17 women’s team head coach
Thomas Dennerby had plenty of names to choose from and groom ahead for the mega
event next year.