Punjab face do-or-die match

Srinagar: Defending champions Punjab defeated host Jammu and Kashmir by a solitary goal in the quarterfinal league match, played over two days, of the Santosh Trophy at the Bakshi Stadium here on Sunday.

Sukhwinder Singh’s 68th minute strike, which led to mob fury on Saturday, clinched the tie in the visitors’ favour.

With this win, the defending champions have kept their hopes alive to progress into the semifinals and their last league match against Kerala will be a do-or-die encounter for the both the teams.

Punjab’s win has also ensured a semifinal berth for Services, which has won both the games in Group A.

The Punjab vs J&K match was stopped on Saturday after a section of the crowd crashed through the fencing and ran all over the pitch. This led to the players running towards the dressing room for safety and immediate stopping of the match.

Trouble started following a clash between media persons and the tournament organisers.

— PTI

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West Bengal register opening victory

Srinagar: Former champions West Bengal defeated Karnataka 4-1 in a Group B league match to register their first victory in the 62nd Santosh Trophy National Football Championship at Bakshi Stadium here on Sunday.

The Bengal side dominated the proceedings throughout and could have registered the victory by a bigger margin had their forwards converted the chances that came their way. They got as many as 18 chances to score but their strikers could not latch on to the opportunities.

On the other side, Karnataka players could create only four such chances for themselves. The disappointment of missed chances was wiped off when Asim Dass, just seconds before the breather, found the net through a header to give his side 1-0 lead.

Bengal players raided the rival goal post more after the break and began finding the targets. Guaranga Datta scored second goal in 58th minute and Syed Rahim Nabi increased the lead to 3-0 in the 74th minute.

Karnataka skipper Xavier Vijay Kumar then scored the only goal of his side, reducing the margin three minutes later, heading the ball into the net after receiving a pass from the right flank.

This triggered more attacks from the southern side but West Bengal defenders did a good job thwarting all the raids successfully. Tariq Ahmed completed the tally for the winners in the 85th minute, writing the fate of the opponents. — PTI