The match-winner came just five minutes from time. Amarnath squeezed in between defenders Girish and Vinod Kumar with a solo effort on the left and shot an angled drive past KSP custodian Anand Kumar, much against the run of play.
KSP enjoyed the lion’s share of possession right from the start, but ran out of ideas inside the rival box. They were left to rue their lacklustre shooting as they slid to their second defeat of the season.
Midfielder Sampath Kumar was the main culprit, guilty of attempting too long-rangers that were off target, while in the 37th minute, striker Karthik missed a golden chance to give his team the lead.
Quite a few corner-kicks too did not bear fruit. Then, moments before half time, SAI goalkeeper Razzaq denied Srinath with a brilliant charge.
Six minutes after resumption, KSP were lucky when a Vishal shot deflected off defender Pradeep BV, but went straight into goalkeeper Anand’s hands.
The action was confined mainly to the SAI half in the second session, their defence kept busy all the time. A Karthik foray was intercepted by Razzaq, again with a neat charge, in the 73rd minute. Five minutes later, Srinath’s flick lacked the pace to roll over the line.
In the 74th minute, Pradeep’s grounder tumbled out of Razzaq’s hands, but Srinath could not take advantage. Moments later, a fierce Pradeep drive blazed just over the bar.
The Amarnath strike came like a bolt from the blue as the wiry customer was quick with the counter-attack. SAI, without three key players away on State duty, almost doubled their tally, but a Sanju Kumar shot was splendidly tipped away by Anand two minutes from time.
Other result: ‘A’ Division: BUFC: 5 (Madhu 20th, Sharath 22nd, Kamal 24th, Ashok 62nd, Chetan 78th) bt Universal: 1 (Harish 63rd).
Tuesday’s matches: ‘A’ Division: RBI vs RWF (1.45 pm); Super Division: BEML vs Postal (3.45 pm).