Santosh Trophy: Heartbreak For Odisha As Karnataka Sneak Into Semis On Goal Difference

Pic courtesy AIFF

Malappuram (Kerala): It was heartbreak for Odisha in the Santosh Trophy here on Monday as they failed to qualify for the semifinals despite tying on points with Karnataka for the second spot from Group B.

Having failed to earn at least a draw – which would have been enough for them to seal a last-four berth – and lost to Services 0-2 earlier in the day, Odisha still had chance, depending on Karnataka’s result against Gujarat in the evening game.

The Odisha camp was praying for a draw or loss for Karnataka, or a victory margin of less than three goals even if they beat Gujarat.

As it turned out, Karnataka raced to a three-goal lead in the first half itself and added a fourth after half-time to win 4-0.

That meant both Karnataka and Odisha finished with 7 points, but Karnataka qualified due to a better goal difference of plus-2 (8 scored, 6 conceded) than Odisha’s zero (7 scored, 7 conceded).

Manipur topped the group with 9 points.

From Group A, hosts Kerala and 32-time champions Bengal advanced to the semifinals.