Guwahati: Odisha came a cropper in their final Group B match on Saturday to bow out of the Santosh Trophy.
Needing a win to keep alive hopes of qualifying for the quarterfinals, Odisha went down 2-5 to Punjab at Assam’s Silpathar football stadium.
Despite conceding two goals within 28 minutes, Odisha made a match of it by reducing the margin before half-time.
However, a hattrick by 21-year-old Punjab striker Himanshu Jangra in the second session destroyed Odisha’s hopes.
Kartik Hantal scored for Odisha in the 37th minute, after Harmandeep Singh and Samson Keishing had handed Punjab a two-goal cushion.
Jangra then took charge after change of ends. He scored in the 47th, 81st and 94th minute to deflate Odisha. Though Odisha’s Arpan Lakra found the target in the 79th minute, it was not enough.
Odisha thus finished a disappointing campaign at the bottom of the six-team Group B, with just 2 points. Besides drawing with Railways (1-1) and Services (0-0), Odisha lost to Meghalaya (0-1), Kerala (0-1) and Punjab (2-5).
Punjab thus qualified for the last eight along with Kerala and Railways. The fourth qualifier from Group B will be either Meghalaya or Services, depending on the result of the Services versus Kerala game, which was postponed on Saturday.
