Key Points

A brace from Mousumi Murmu (33’, 45+2’) set up a comprehensive victory for Sribhumi, which lifted them to third on the table, with 15 points from 11 matches. Sandra Atinga (42’) and Bala Devi (52’) scored one each for them, while Manisha Naik (34’) and Juli Kishan (58’) scored for Nita FA. The side from Cuttack, meanwhile, are fifth with 13 points from 11 matches.

While Sribhumi dominated the early exchanges, a lack of composure in the final third continued to let them down for the opening of the game. It took half an hour for the game to spark to life, when Sribhumi’s Mousumi Murmu latched on to a pinpoint Bala Devi through ball to slam the ball into the roof of the Nita FA net.

The hosts had a deserved lead. It did not last long. Almost right from the restart, Nita drew level, when veteran midfielder Kamala Devi played a brilliant and measured through ball to Manisha Naik in the box. The forward toe-poked the ball beyond Aditi Chauhan to draw them level.

The teams exchanged attacks frequently from there on, and Sribhumi took the lead for a second time when Sandra Atinga slammed a 35-yard free-kick straight into the goal. Within minutes the lead was doubled when Murmu added a second, chipping the goalkeeper after running through the defence.

Sribhumi were up and running and halftime did not hurt their momentum. Within minutes of the restart, Bala Devi scored their fourth, finishing smartly from inside the box, after a cutback fell loose into her path. Just before the hour mark, Nita reduced the deficit when Juli Kishan headed in a corner.

Despite a third of the game to play, Nita had lost their sting in attack with their key players visibly tiring as the game wore on. Sribhumi were content with keeping them at bay without exerting themselves in attack. On the occasional venture forward, Bala and Murmu both had chances to score more for the hosts but were denied by Sasmita Parida in the Nita goal. They bagged the three points comfortably nonetheless.

- IANS