Karnataka look to terminate Services for a spot in Santosh Trophy national round

Bengaluru, January 20: The mighty Services stand in the way of Karnataka and a spot in the national round of the Santosh Trophy National Football Championship. Karnataka, the hosts of the South Zone Qualifying Round, bank on the support of the crowd as they seek a win against Services in their deciding clash at the Bangalore Football Stadium at 4 pm on Sunday, January 21.

Karnataka have recorded two victories - one convincing 5-0 win over Telangana and another struggling 2-0 triumph over Puducherry in Pool A. Services too have achieved the same - edged Telangana 2-1 and defeated Puducherry 4-1. Although a draw is sufficient for Karnataka to progress because of their superior goal difference, Karnataka coach P Muralidharan says they will not go with the mindset of bagging a point from the match.

"If I tell the boys to play for a draw, they will take it casually and end up conceding unneccesary goals," Muralidharan said. "No, we're definitely going for a win against Services."

Misfiring Karnataka manage win

Muralidharan was non-commital of Services' strengths, adding that the team which performs better on the day will move to the national round. "As far as I am concerned, Services are just another team like us," he said. "From the matches of Services that I saw, I think we can beat them. However, it all depends on how we perform on the day. Our accuracy rate in front of the goal is worrying. We have to tackle that issue."

For Services, Arjun Tudu and Nanish Singh are in fine form. Laishram Herojit Singh scored a minute before time to bag the win for Services in the close game against Telangana.

Karnataka, meanwhile, are yet to concede in their two matches. They played against weaker opposition but kept a compact back-four comprising full-backs Sunil Kumar M and Shahabaaz Khan and central defenders Shafeel PP and Keith Reymond Stephen.

Up front, Liton Shil and Rajesh S will lead the strike force for Karnataka. Both scored a brace in the win against Telangana. Khan too goes into the game against Services having scored in both of Karnataka's matches. Amoes has made his mark off the bench, scoring the winner for Karnataka against Puducherry.

Tickets for the game are available at the stadium and are priced at Rs 100 and Rs 50. There's also free entry in one of the stands.

Karnataka vs Services

Santosh Trophy South Zone Qualifying Round

At Bangalore Football Stadium

At 4 pm

No TV telecast

Saturday's result:

Pool B

Andhra Pradesh 0 lost to Tamil Nadu 1 (Vijay Nagappan 57)