Santosh Trophy: Misfiring Karnataka sneak two past Puducherry for second win

Bengaluru, January 19: Karnataka managed a 2-0 win against a defensive Puducherry team on a day when they had at least 10 chances to score in the Santosh Trophy South Zone Qualifiying Round at the Bangalore Football Stadium on Friday (Janaury 19).

Both goals came in the second half and were scored by Shahabaaz Khan (65th minute) and substitute Amoes (87th). However, Karnataka's scoring accuracy remains a worrying factor when they face Services, who beat Telangana 2-1, in the decider on Sunday, January 21. Whoever wins that match will qualify for the national round of the Santosh Trophy.

"Our efficiency in front of the goal is indeed a problem," Karnataka coach P Muralidharan conceded after the game. "We've a tough match ahead and have to somehow tackle this issue. Moreover, Puducherry played a defensive game today. They had all their 10 outfield players at the box trying to clear Karnataka's chances. We'd to resort to packing in the crosses from the wings or playing 1-2 short passes. I think Puducherry only aimed for a point from this match so that they could go back home happy with a draw after their loss to Services the other day."

The goalless first half saw Karnataka denied a goal for offside. Earlier, popular Sandalwood (Kannada cinema) actor Yash (Naveen Kumar Gowda) inaugurated the match and wished all the players luck.

Puducherry, who lost 1-4 to Services in their opener, chose to play the waiting game. Karnataka, on the other hand, needed a win to challenge for a spot in the national round.

In the 39th minute, Solaimalai N cut his through ball above the Puducherry defenders for captain Vignesh G, who was making a run. Vignesh caught up with the ball and was one-on-one with the Puducherry goalkeeper P Divakar. But instead of shooting, he squared it to Liton Shil, who scored but was offside.

"I got a call from Liton for the pass and I was in two minds," Vignesh said. "He was in an offside position and I should have gone for the goal myself."

It all turned out well for Karnataka in the second half though. Khan made the most of a melee inside the box when the Puducherry defenders kept blocking his run. He scrammed to the space inside the box and pinched a shot in from the left touchline, which agonisingly drifted into the bottom right of the net.

Puducherry almost equalised in the 85th minute when defender S Karunanithi broke past his marker on the right and rolled the ball into the centre. Forward Kabilan Colame gushed to slot the ball in, but he shot wide.

Realising they needed another goal, Karnataka replaced Rajesh S with Amoes. But that attacking change was made in the 70th minute. It proved to be the gamechanger in the 87th minute when Amoes scored Karnataka's second. Solaimalai floated one in from the right to the far side. Amoes, lurking behind the defender there, controlled the ball with his left foot and unleashed a shot into the roof of the net to seal the win for Karnataka.

RESULT

Karnataka 2 (Shahabaaz Khan 65, Amoes 87) bt Puducherry 0

Services 2 (Nanish Singh 25, Laishram Herojit Singh 89) bt Telangana 1 (Kumar Dhanala 59)