The Odisha midfielders won the battle in the centre of the park as they time and again dispossessed the Manipur players. The first real opportunity fell to Odisha as a lofted through ball had to be cleared by the Abujar but the ball fell to Kartik Hantal, who could not wrap his left foot around the ball with the gaping goal at his mercy. The ball ultimately trickled out of play.

Manipur had to resort to long rangers as the players seemed to run out of ideas once they reached the edge of the box. Their best chance came from a free-kick from the right. A free kick by Ningthoujam Momocha Singh was cleared by Odisha goalkeeper Chinmaya Sekhar Behera but after a melee inside the box, it fell to Somishon Shirak who put the ball into the back of the net but was adjudged to be offside.

The tenaciousness of Odisha finally bore fruit in the 37th minute. Kartik Hantal dispossessed Manipur centre-back Naoroibam Romen Singh and ran from the centre circle towards goal and calmly slotted past Abujar.

Manipur coach Gift Raikhan must have had strong words to tell his players during the half-time team talk and the players seemed much more up for it as the second half commenced. Substitute NG Bedeenpar Moyon had the ball in the back of the net but the young striker was adjudged to be off-side.

Odisha players defended deep and played on the break in the second half. Jamir Oram latched onto a lofted through ball and was bearing down on goal with Naoroibam Romen Singh and Thiyam Chingkheinganba fouling the midfielder just outside the box. Odisha failed to take advantage of the resultant free-kick.

In the closing stages of the match, a free-kick from the right was floated in by Adwin Tirkey and the ball was met by a thumping header from Arapan Lakra from close range. But it cannoned off the woodwork.

The best opportunity for Manipur came in added time with a long range strike from Thiyam Chingkheinganba spectacularly tipped over the crossbar by Odisha goalie Chinmaya Sekhar Behera who had very little to do in the entire match.

Kartik Hantal was awarded as the Hero of the Match. The result means Group B remains wide open with Odisha now on four points from two games while Manipur remain on three. Odisha will next meet Gujarat on April 23.
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TOP: Odisha team poses before their Santosh Trophy match against Manipur in Malappuram on 19 April 2022.
RIGHT: Kartik Hantal of Odisha with the Hero of the Match award in Malappuram on 19 April 2022.