Karnataka remain in semis hunt

Mizoram virtually sealed a semifinal berth with a 2-1 win against Punjab while Karnataka too remained in the hunt after beating Odisha by an identical scoreline in the National Football Championship for the 72nd Santosh Trophy here on Saturday.

The North-Eastern outfit now have three wins from as many matches to be on nine points to lead Group B, followed by Karnataka, who have six points from two matches.

Karnataka drew the first blood through Leon Augustine in the 26th minute but Odisha restored parity in the first-half injury time, thanks to Arjun Naik's goal.

The second-half saw both teams fighting for a decisive goal and it was Rajesh S who scored the winner for Karnataka in the 87th minute at the Rabindra Sarovar Stadium.

Mizoram made a rousing start to the contest at the Howrah Stadium with Lal Remruata scoring two back to back goals in space of two minutes.

In the seventh minute, Remruata drew first blood off a rebound and struck his second in a couple of minutes. Jitender Rawat pulled one back for Punjab in the 56th minute.