HP, Karnataka, Mizoram register wins in Santosh trophy

Srinagar, May 26 (UNI) Delhi and Haryana shared points with Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh respectively while Himachal Pradesh, Karnataka and Mizoram won their respectives league matches in 62nd National Football championship for the Santosh trophy here today.

The Delhi and Gujarat match ended in a goalless draw though both teams got a number of chances to score. However, the forwards muffed the chances.

In the first match of the day, Himachal Pradesh (HP) overpowered Daman and Diu 4-2.

The winners had to wait for 35 minutes for the first goal despite making a number of moves. Yogesh Chona drew the first blood for HP when he put the ball into the net after defeating the rival goalkeeper.

He consolidated the lead for his team when he capitalised on a long pass from Ajay Rana a minute before the breather.

Daman and Diu made several attempts on the opposite goal but failed to hit the target, mainly because of some good saves by HP goalkeeper Manoj Kumar.

It was Markilino Neol who reduced the margin for the Daman and Diu when he scored in the 15 minutes after interval.

However, Gaurav Kumar and Chandan Kumar netted for the winners before Franciso scored for Daman shortly before the long whistle.

Another match of the day and the first of the Championship to be played at the Polo-Ground was between Karnataka and Jharkhand, in which Karnataka outclassed Jharkhand 2-1.

The encounter between Haryana and Mahdya Pradesh ended in a goal-less draw as no team could score in a tight clash.

Mizoram beat Chatisgarh 2-1 with Mahima and Malsaw scoring one goal each for the north-eastern state, respectively in the 15th and 87th minutes.

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