Santosh Trophy: Odisha Fail To Defend Lead, Go Down To Bengal In Quarterfinals

Hyderabad: Odisha went down 1-3 to Bengal in the quarterfinals of the national football championship for the Santosh Trophy at Deccan Arena here on Thursday.

The match, however, was not as one-sided as the scoreline might suggest.

Odisha, in fact, took the lead in the 25th minute through Rakesh Oram. Bengal levelled scores two minutes into first-half stoppage time, with Nara Hari Shrestha putting the finishing touches.

With the scores tied 1-1 at half-time, both teams looked to gain the upperhand after change of ends. The Odisha defence finally cracked after 77 minutes when Rabi Hansda handed Bengal the lead.

Trailing in the game for the first time, Odisha tried their best to find the equaliser and push the game to extra-time in the final quarter of an hour. As Odisha threw caution to the winds, Bengal managed to find a third goal through Manotosh Majhi two minutes into injury time.

Odisha had qualified for the knockouts by finishing fourth in Group B, while Bengal topped Group A.