Punjab reach semis in style

Srinagar, June 9: Reigning champions Punjab crushed Kerala 5-0, while Services pipped a spirited Jammu and Kashmir 3-2 to take contrasting routes to the semifinal of the 62nd Santosh Trophy national football championship here on Monday.

Group B, meanwhile, is still wide open and Tuesday’s matches — Goa vs Karnataka and West Bengal vs Maharashtra — will decide the semifinalists from this group.

After a quiet first half, Punjab pumped in five goals in a span of 34 minutes to decimate last year’s semifinalists Kerala. Baljit Sahni and Baljit Singh scored a brace each after Sakatar Singh had opened the account in the 54th minute.

Kerala strikers cut a sorry figure with their poor finishing.

Abdul Nabi Ahmed missed a sitter in the third minute while Martin John squandered at least three opportunities in the first half itself and Kerala had to pay the price for the lapses.

Earlier, Services laboured its way into the semifinals after pipping a spirited Jammu and Kashmir 3-2 at the Bakshi Stadium here.

Having lost their first two games against Punjab and Kerala, J&K were already out of the reckoning for a semifinal berth but the hosts played for pride and almost upstaged Services in the see-saw match.

Though the hosts dominated most of the proceedings, S Relang put Services ahead in the eighth minute.

Rohit Kumar restored parity for the hosts with his 56th minute strike but Shaji D’Silva struck twice in a span of seven minutes to make it 3-1 for Services.

Though the never-say-die Jammu and Kashmir reduced the margin again through Ishfaq in the 74th minute, the equaliser eluded them for the remainder of the tie.

— PTI