<p>Stephen’s hat-trick powered Karnataka to a 4-1 win over Daman and Diu in a Cluster B match of the 67th National football championship for the Santosh Trophy at the Lal Bahadur Shastri Stadium here on Tuesday. <br /><br /></p>.<p>This was Karnataka’s second successive win after having drubbed Himachal Pradesh 5-1 in their opening match. <br /><br />S Rajesh, who netted three goals against Himachal, put Karnataka ahead in the 25th minute before Stephen doubled the lead in the 39th minute. <br /><br />Immediately after the break, Daman and Diu pulled one back through Sanjib Kumar (49th). <br />However, Stephen struck again in the 62nd minute. The South United forward completed his hat-trick and Karnataka’s tally with a goal nine minutes from time.<br /><br />Karnataka, who have six points from two matches, next face Arunachal Pradesh on Saturday. <br /><br />The four-time champions meet Bihar in their final league match a couple of days later.</p>
<p>Stephen’s hat-trick powered Karnataka to a 4-1 win over Daman and Diu in a Cluster B match of the 67th National football championship for the Santosh Trophy at the Lal Bahadur Shastri Stadium here on Tuesday. <br /><br /></p>.<p>This was Karnataka’s second successive win after having drubbed Himachal Pradesh 5-1 in their opening match. <br /><br />S Rajesh, who netted three goals against Himachal, put Karnataka ahead in the 25th minute before Stephen doubled the lead in the 39th minute. <br /><br />Immediately after the break, Daman and Diu pulled one back through Sanjib Kumar (49th). <br />However, Stephen struck again in the 62nd minute. The South United forward completed his hat-trick and Karnataka’s tally with a goal nine minutes from time.<br /><br />Karnataka, who have six points from two matches, next face Arunachal Pradesh on Saturday. <br /><br />The four-time champions meet Bihar in their final league match a couple of days later.</p>
