The Hindu : Sport / Football : Punjab quells Karnataka

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Punjab quells Karnataka

Amitabha Das Sharma

Punjab showed better scoring skills in the tiebreaker
For Karnataka, Srinath and Santh Kumar missed

— Photo: PTI

HOT CHASE: Punjab’s Baljit Sahni (right) tries to dribble past the Karnataka defenders in the Santosh Trophy semifinal on Friday.

SRINAGAR: Defending champion Punjab quelled a resurgent Karnataka via tiebreaker (4-3) in the semifinals of the Santosh Trophy here on Friday.

The second semifinal of the Senior National football championship at the Bakshi Stadium saw Punjab shooting out Karnataka. Punjab will now take on Services in the final on Sunday.

The barren regulation time and the 30 minutes of extra-time failed to break the deadlock.

Punjab showed better scoring skills in the tiebreaker, realising its 13th appearance in the final of the 67-year-old tournament.

In the tiebreaker, Jaspal Singh, Jagpreet Singh, Sukhwinder Singh and Ravinder Singh were on target, while Balwant Singh’s shot was saved by Karnataka’s substitute goalkeeper Nagendra.

For Karnataka, Srinath and Santh Kumar missed the mark and the three successful scorers were Rajendra Prasad, Bimal Minz and Xavier Vijay Kumar.

Karnataka definitely showed more aggression. Coach R. Thyagaraj made his intentions clear by employing three specialist strikers. But Karnataka’s problem with finishing continued to bother the side.

Its midfield performed well riding on the skills of versatile Xavier Vijay Kumar and Rajendra Prasad. But the goal remained elusive as the forwards — Nabeel, Sanath Kumar and Bimal Minz — failed to capitalise on the chances.

Punjab attack was unable to find the touch that could help it breach the Karnataka defence. The two sessions wore out soon with the two sides biding time in search of a man who could find the target.

For the record, Nabeel and Sanath Kumar came close to scoring twice, but could not finish it properly. Punjab tried unsuccessfully through Sukhwinder Singh, Baljit Sahni and substitute Balraj Singh. Sukhwinder and Balraj’s attempts were saved by Karnataka custodian Gumpe Rime.

The extra-time failed to yield any goals.

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