Odisha out to challenge Manipur's dominance in Rajmata Jijabai Trophy final

New Delhi, Dec 22 For the sixth time in the history of the Senior Women's National Football Championship for Rajmata Jijabai Trophy, Manipur and Odisha will meet in the final, which will be played at the Ramakrishna Mission Ashrama Ground in Narainpur, Chhattisgarh on Monday.

Manipur have just been their usual selves this season, doing what they are always expected to do. This is the 29th edition of the competition and the undisputed queens of Indian women's football will play their 27th final. They have won it 22 times. So, it's no surprise that in each of the last five finals between Manipur and Odisha, the former have lifted the trophy. The last occasion was in 2018-19 when Manipur beat them 2-1 on their home soil in Cuttack. Irom Prameshwori Devi, part of this season's squad as well, scored in that final.

Odisha also have one title to their name, in 2010-11 in Bhilai, which was one of the two rare occasions Manipur failed to reach the final. Odisha blanked West Bengal 5-0. That remains as the biggest margin of victory in a Senior Women's National Football Championship.

As far as the road to the final for the current tournament in Narainpur is concerned, Manipur have had no hiccups, topping Group A with four wins in four. They beat Odisha 2-0 in the group stage, with goals from Hemam Shilky Devi and Laishram Bibicha Devi, so they will carry a psychological advantage into the final. Big wins over Maharashtra (6-1) and Jharkhand (5-0) confirmed their place in the semi-final as toppers with a game to spare. They went the distance with Tamil Nadu in their last group stage match, only winning 2-1 in injury time. But that's largely because they had nothing to play for and head coach Moirangthem Deben Singh rotated the line-up.

In Saturday's semi-final, Manipur blew away West Bengal with three second half goals from three India internationals - Dangmei Grace, Naorem Priyangka Devi and Shilky. In fact, eight of the 11 starters held senior India caps.

However, the Blue Tigress who has shone the brightest in the tournament is Odisha's Pyari Xaxa. Beginning with the qualifying rounds, the forward has netted 12 goals so far, including both in their 2-0 semi-final win against Haryana. Odisha's reliance on a single goalscoring outlet prompted Manipur to set up their defence accordingly, as they heavily marked Pyari in the group stage meeting. Odisha head coach Gitanjali Khuntia will need to churn out a Plan B if they are to unlock this mean Manipur backline.

Odisha will have plenty to worry about their defence too. While Manipur haven't been the quickest starters - failing to score in the first half in the last four matches in a row - it's their second half energy which has blown away opposition teams so far. In those last four games, they have scored six goals in the first 15 minutes after the restart. Consistency throughout the 90 minutes will be key for Odisha to keep Manipur at bay and push for a historic result in the state's history.